THROUGH 
FIVE  ADMINISTRATIONS 

REAUM- 

)LONEL  WILLIAM  H.  CROC 
. 


MARGARITA  SPALDING  GERRY 


//. 


ABRAHAM       LINCOLN 

From  the  original  negative  taken  from  life  by  Brady  in   1864,  now  in  the  private 
collection  of  Frederick  H.  Meserve,  New  York  City. 


THROUGH 
FIVE  ADMINISTRATIONS 


REMINISCENCES    OF 

COLONEL  WILLIAM   H.  9ROOK 

BODY-GUARD  TO  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  ;  ;  •     > 


COMPILED  AND   EDITED  BY 

MARGARITA  SPALDING  GERRY 


ILLUSTRATED 


7  . 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

M  C  M  X 


Copyright,  1907,  1910,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS 

Copyright,  1908,  1909,  by  THE  CENTURY  Co. 
Copyright,  1910,  by  THK  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

Published  October,  1910. 
Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  LINCOLN  AS  I  KNEW  HIM i 

II.  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY  AND  OTHER  PEOPLE     .  14 

III.  THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  RICHMOND 38 

IV.  A  NEW  PHASE  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION 60 

V.  ANDREW  JOHNSON  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE   ....  80 

VI.  DISSENSION  WITH  THE  RADICALS 96 

VII.  THE  IMPEACHMENT 112 

VIII.  AFTER  THE  IMPEACHMENT 133 

IX.  WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 153 

X.  FAMILY  LIFE  OF  THE  GRANTS 176 

XI.  POLITICAL  DISSENSION 189 

XII.  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  .     .  222 

XIII.  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE  HAYES  ADMINISTRATION  .     .     .  245 

XIV.  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR 256 


903717 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN Frontispiece 

ABRAHAM    LINCOLN Facing  p.     32 

ANDREW    JOHNSON "  82 

THE    SENATE    AS    A    COURT    OF    IMPEACHMENT    FOR    THE 


TRIAL 


I32 


ULYSSES    S.    GRANT T<j4 

RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES "  224 

JAMES    A.    GARFIELD "  2rg 

CHESTER    A.    ARTHUR          "  376 


THROUGH    FIVE   ADMINISTRATIONS 


THROUGH 
FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

i 

LINCOLN   AS   I   KNEW   HIM 

IT  was  in  November,  1864,  that  four  police  officers 
were  detailed  by  Mr.  William  B.  Webb,  who  was 
then  chief  of  police  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  be 
a  special  guard  for  President  Lincoln.  They  were  to 
act  on  instructions  from  headquarters,  and  were  also 
to  be  subject  to  any  orders  the  President  might  give. 
The  men  were  Elphonso  Dunn,  John  Parker,  Alex 
ander  Smith,  and  Thomas  Pendel.  All  have  since 
died.  They  reported  immediately  to  the  White 
House.  Not  long  after  the  appointment  a  vacancy 
in  the  position  of  doorkeeper  occurred,  and  the 
place  was  given  to  Pendel.  On  the  4th  of  January 
I  was  sent  to  the  White  House  to  act  as  the  fourth 
guard. 

There  was  rotation  in  the  service,  although  the 
hours  were  not  invariable.  The  general  plan  was 
this :  Two  men  were  on  duty  from  eight  in  the  morn- 

i 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

ing  to  four  in  the  afternoon.  These  officers  guarded 
the  approach  to  the  President  in  his  office  or  elsewhere 
in  the  building,  accompanied  him  on  any  walks  he 
might  take — in  general,  stood  between  him  and  pos 
sible  danger.  At  four  another  man  went  on  duty  and 
remained  until  midnight,  or  later  if  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
gone  outside  the  White  House  and  had  not  returned 
by  that  time.  At  twelve  the  second  night-guard  went 
on  duty,  and  remained  until  he  was  relieved,  at  eight 
in  the  morning.  The  night-guards  were  expected  to 
protect  the  President  on  his  expeditions  to  and  from 
the  War  Department,  or  while  he  was  at  any  place  of 
amusement,  and  to  patrol  the  corridor  outside  his 
room  while  he  slept.  We  were  all  armed  with 
revolvers. 

The  reasons  why  the  friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln  insisted 
on  this  precaution  were  almost  as  evident  then  as  they 
became  later.  Marshal  Ward  Lamon  and  Secretary 
Stanton  had  been  begging  him,  it  is  reported,  since 
1862  not  to  go  abroad  without  protection  of  some 
kind.  Mr.  Lamon  is  on  record  as  having  said  that 
he  was  especially  fearful  of  the  President's  show 
ing  himself  at  the  theatre.  He  considered  that  a 
public  place  of  amusement  offered  an  opportunity 
for  assassination  even  more  favorable  than  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  solitary  walks  or  the  occasional  drive  or  horse 
back  ride  he  took  to  the  Soldiers'  Home.  Mr.  Stan- 
ton  is  known  to  have  been  angered  by  a  lack  of 
caution  which,  on  the  part  of  a  man  so  indispensable 
to  the  welfare  of  the  nation  as  its  President,  he  re 
garded  as  foolhardiness.  For  the  President  had  al- 


LINCOLN    AS    I    KNEW    HIM 

ways  been  inclined,  in  his  interest  in  the  thing  that 
absorbed  him,  to  forget  that  he  was  vulnerable. 
Every  one  remembers  how,  when  he  was  watching 
Early's  threatened  attack  on  the  fortifications  north 
of  Washington,  he  exposed  himself  recklessly  to 
chance  bullets.  He  hated  being  on  his  guard,  and 
the  fact  that  it  was  necessary  to  distrust  his  fellow- 
Americans  saddened  him.  He  refused  to  be  guarded 
as  long  as  it  was  possible  for  a  sane  man  to  persist. 

But  toward  the  end  of  1864  so  much  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  on  him,  particularly  by  Marshal 
Lamon  and  Secretary  Stanton,  that  he  finally  yielded. 
He  had  admitted  to  Ward  Lamon  before  this  that  he 
knew  there  was  danger  from  a  Pole  named  Garowski, 
who  had  been  seen  skulking  about  the  White  House 
grounds.  He  told  Lamon  of  a  shot  that  had  barely 
missed  him  one  day  when  he  was  riding  to  the  Sol 
diers'  Home.  Conspiracies  to  abduct  or  assassinate 
the  President  were  constantly  being  rumored.  At  first 
he  contended  that  if  any  one  wanted  to  murder  him 
no  precaution  would  avail.  Finally,  although  he  was 
always  more  or  less  of  this  opinion,  the  President 
gave  way  to  the  anxieties  of  those  near  to  him.  He 
consented  to  the  daily  guard  of  police  officers,  and,  on 
longer  journeys,  to  a  cavalry  guard. 

There  were  many  reasons  why  this  fact  was  not 
known  at  the  time  and  has  not  been  generally  under 
stood  since.  In  the  first  place,  the  President's  brav 
ery  (rashness,  some  called  it),  was  so  universally 
recognized,  he  had  refused  for  so  long  to  take  any 
precautions,  that  people  were  not  looking  for  him  to 

3 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

change.  In  the  second  place,  both  from  his  own  feel 
ings  and  as  a  matter  of  policy,  he  did  not  want  it 
blazoned  over  the  country  that  it  had  been  found 
necessary  to  guard  the  life  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  from  assassination.  It  was  not  wise — 
especially  at  this  critical  time — to  admit  so  great  a 
lack  of  confidence  in  the  people.  He  was  sensitive 
about  it,  too.  It  hurt  him  to  admit  it.  But  realiz 
ing  that  he  had  been  chosen  to  save  the  country  from 
threatened  destruction,  he  forced  himself,  during  the 
last  months  of  his  life,  to  be  somewhat  more  cautious. 
When  he  had  yielded,  however,  because  of  all  these 
reasons,  he  wished  as  little  show  as  possible  of  precau 
tion.  We  wore  citizen's  clothes;  there  was  no  men 
tion  of  the  appointment  in  the  papers  or  in  official 
records ;  we  walked  with  him,  not  behind  him.  The 
President  was  simple  in  his  manners;  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  talking  freely  with  any  one  who  wished  to 
speak  to  him.  So  it  happened  that  a  passer-by  had 
no  way  of  knowing  that  the  man  in  plain  clothes  who 
walked  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  side  was  any  other  than  the 
casual  friend,  office-seeker,  petitioner,  adviser,  who 
helped  to  fill  up  every  minute  of  the  President's  wak 
ing  time. 

I  was  very  much  surprised  when  the  order  came  to 
report  to  the  President  for  duty,  and  naturally  elated. 
It  was  one  Monday  morning.  I  had  never  been  in 
side  the  White  House.  I  had  seen  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
regarded  him  vaguely  as  a  great  man,  but  had  never 
spoken  to  him.  The  first  few  days  I  was  getting  my 
bearings  and  accustoming  myself  to  the  new  duties. 

4 


LINCOLN    AS    I    KNEW    HIM 

On  the  Qth  I  was  put  on  night  duty,  covering  the 
first  part  of  the  night.  And  so  it  happened  that  I 
was  on  guard  at  the  first  evening  reception  of  the 
year,  on  the  gth  of  January.  I  knew  the  White 
House  very  well  by  this  time — that  is,  the  state  apart 
ments  of  the  first  floor  and  the  President's  office  in  the 
southeast  corner  up-stairs.  The  spectacle  awed  me 
at  first.  I  had  never  seen  anything  like  it  before. 
The  reception,  or  " levee,"  as  the  name  was  then,  was 
crowded.  It  was  generally  considered  a  brilliant 
affair.  I  know  it  dazzled  me. 

The  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  stood  in  the  octa 
gon  Blue  Room,  near  the  western  door.  I  was  in  the 
main  entrance  just  outside,  near  where  the  broad 
flight  of  steps  used  to  go  up  to  the  second  floor.  The 
guests  entered  the  northern  door,  left  their  wraps  in 
the  cloak-rooms  which  had  been  constructed  in  the 
corridor,  assembled  in  the  Red  Room,  made  their 
way  to  the  Blue  Room,  where  they  were  received. 
Then  they  progressed,  greeting  friends  in  the  crowd, 
through  the  Green  Room  to  the  great  East  Room, 
where  they  remained.  On  the  right  of  the  President 
was  Mr.  John  G.  Nicolay,  one  of  the  two  secretaries ; 
on  his  left  Deputy-Marshal  Phillips.  Commissioner 
French  presented  the  guests  to  Mrs.  Lincoln.  I  sup 
pose  I  could  hardly  be  expected  to  remember  what 
the  ladies  wore.  But  my  wife  saw  in  the  paper  the 
next  day  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  wore  white  silk  trimmed 
with  black  lace.  She  had  a  wreath  of  white  flowers 
in  her  hair,  and  wore  a  necklace  of  pearls.  I  suppose 
the  costume,  hoop-skirts  and  all,  would  look  ugly  to 

5 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

me  to-day.  But  we  all  thought  Mrs.  Lincoln  looked 
handsome.  To  my  mind  she  was  a  pretty  woman, 
small  and  plump,  with  a  round,  baby  face  and  bright 
black  eyes.  Senator  Sumner  was  present,  and  Senator 
Chase  with  a  party.  That  reminds  me  of  what  was 
to  me  the  most  exciting  moment  of  the  reception. 

My  orders  were  to  allow  no  one  who  wore  wraps  of 
any  kind  to  pass  into  the  Blue  Room.  The  reason 
for  this  is  not  hard  to  find.  Precautions  against  vio 
lence  were  being  redoubled,  and  this  was  one  of  them. 
It  would  be  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  a 
would-be  assassin  to  smuggle  weapons  in  under  the 
voluminous  cloaks  then  worn.  It  had  been  an 
nounced  that  guests  were  expected  to  leave  their 
wraps  in  one  of  the  rooms  appointed  for  them.  I 
had  been  instructed  to  make  absolutely  no  excep 
tions.  The  newspapers  the  next  day  said:  "The  rule 
of  decorum  relating  to  wraps  was  very  generally  ob 
served."  They  didn't  know  about  my  little  experi 
ence. 

Several  guests  had  attempted  to  enter  still  wearing 
their  cloaks.  But  no  one  resisted  the  order  when  it 
was  made  known.  Finally  a  very  handsome  young 
woman  came  in  who  asked  for  Senator  Chase's  party. 
She  wore  a  wrap  that  completely  hid  her  dress.  She 
could  have  brought  in  a  whole  arsenal  of  weapons 
under  its  folds.  I  told  her  that  she  could  not  enter 
until  she  left  her  cloak  in  the  cloak-room.  She  be 
came  angry. 

"Do  you  know  who  I  am  ?"  she  demanded,  haughti 
ly.  I  was  rather  nervous,  for  it  was  my  first  experi- 

6 


LINCOLN    AS    I    KNEW    HIM 

ence  saying  "Must  not!"  to  White  House  guests.    But 
I  managed  to  say  I  did  not  know  who  she  was. 

"I  am  Mrs.  Senator  Sprague,"  she  announced,  as  if 
that  were  final.  I  had  heard  of  Kate  Chase  Sprague, 
of  course,  as  had  every  one  else  in  Washington,  and 
of  her  father's  ambition  and  her  own  brilliant  career. 
But  I  tried  to  be  courageous,  and  told  her  as  politely 
as  I  could  what  my  orders  were  and  why  they  were 
given.  When  she  saw  the  reason  of  the  restriction 
she  took  off  her  cloak  quite  graciously  and  went  in  to 
meet  her  friends. 

By  this  time  most  of  the  guests  had  arrived,  so  I 
had  an  opportunity  to  look  about  me.  It  was  all 
bright  and  gay.  For  this  evening  at  least  there  was 
no  sign  of  the  gloom  that  was  pretty  general  through 
out  the  city. 

The  people  who  crowded  the  rooms  were  in  keep 
ing  with  their  brilliant  character.  The  men  were 
marked  by  a  shade  of  extravagance  in  the  cut  and 
material  of  their  evening  clothes.  There  were  many 
army  officers  in  full  uniform  among  the  guests.  The 
women  looked  like  gorgeous  flowers  in  their  swaying, 
buoyed-out  skirts.  They  were  gayly  dressed,  as  a 
rule,  with  the  off -shoulder  style  of  low-necked  gown; 
they  all  wore  wreaths  of  flowers  in  their  hair.  The 
general  effect  of  the  scene  was  brilliant. 

About  eleven  the  President,  with  Mrs.  Dennison, 
the  wife  of  the  new  Postmaster-General,  on  his  arm, 
followed  by  Mrs.  Lincoln  escorted  by  Senator  Mor 
gan,  entered  the  East  Room.  They  talked  for  a  few 
minutes  with  their  guests  and  then  retired— Mrs. 

7 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Lincoln  to  her  own  room  and  the  President  to  the 
library  up-stairs.  The  levee  was  supposed  to  be  over 
at  eleven,  but  some  people  remained  until  nearly 
twelve.  After  they  had  all  left,  Mr.  Lincoln  wrapped 
himself  in  the  rough  gray  shawl  he  usually  wore  out- 
of-doors,  put  on  his  tall  beaver  hat,  and  slipped  out 
of  the  White  House  through  the  basement.  Accord 
ing  to  my  orders  I  followed  him,  and  was  alone  with 
President  Lincoln  for  the  first  time. 

We  crossed  the  garden,  which  lay  to  the  west, 
where  the  executive  offices  are  now.  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
bent  on  his  nightly  visit  to  Secretary  Stanton  at  the 
War  Department.  I  stole  a  glance  up  at  him,  at  the 
homely  face  rising  so  far  above  me.  The  strength  of 
it  is  not  lessened  in  my  memory  by  what  would  seem 
to  me  now  a  grotesque  setting  of  rough  shawl  and 
silk  hat.  He  looked  to  me  just  like  his  picture,  but 
gentler.  I  will  confess  that  I  was  nervous  when  I 
accompanied  him  that  first  time.  I  hope  it  was  not 
from  any  fear  for  myself.  I  seemed  to  realize  sud 
denly  that  there  was  only  myself  between  this  man 
and  possible  danger.  The  feeling  wore  off  in  time, 
though  it  was  apt  to  come  back  at  any  moment  of 
special  responsibility,  as,  for  instance,  on  the  entrance 
into  Richmond — but  I  mustn't  get  ahead  of  my 
story. 

That  night,  as  I  said,  I  was  a  little  nervous.  The 
President  noticed  it.  He  seemed  to  know  how  I 
felt,  too.  I  had  fallen  into  line  behind  him,  but  he 
motioned  me  to  walk  by  his  side.  He  began  to  talk 
to  me  in  a  kindly  way,  as  though  I  were  a  bashful 

8 


LINCOLN    AS    I    KNEW    HIM 

boy  whom  he  wanted  to  put  at  his  ease,  instead  of 
a  man  appointed  to  guard  him.  In  part,  of  course, 
his  motive  must  have  been  the  dislike  of  seeming  to 
be  guarded,  of  which  I  have  spoken.  But  his  manner 
was  due  to  the  intuitive  sympathy  with  every  one, 
of  which  I  afterward  saw  so  many  instances.  It  was 
shown  particularly  toward  those  who  were  subordi 
nate  to  him.  The  statesmen  who  came  to  consult 
him,  those  who  had  it  in  their  power  to  influence  the 
policy  of  the  party  which  had  chosen  him,  never  had 
the  consideration  from  Mr.  Lincoln  that  he  gave  the 
humblest  of  those  who  served  him. 

A  few  strides  of  the  President's  long  legs — a  few 
more  of  mine — brought  us  to  the  old-fashioned  turn 
stile  that  divided  the  White  House  grounds  from  the 
enclosure  of  the  War  Department.  Mr.  Lincoln  talk 
ed,  in  his  slow,  soft  voice,  chiefly  about  the  reception 
through  which  he  had  just  gone. 

"I  am  glad  it  is  over,"  he  said. 

I  ventured  to  ask  if  he  was  tired. 

"Yes,  it  does  tire  me  to  shake  hands  with  so  many 
people,"  he  answered.  "Especially  now  when  there 
is  so  much  other  work  to  do.  And  most  of  the  guests 
come  out  of  mere  curiosity." 

With  these  words  and  the  half-sigh  which  followed 
we  entered  the  east  door  of  the  War  Department.  In 
those  days  that  was  a  small,  mean,  two-story  build 
ing,  just  in  front  of  the  Navy  Department.  We  went 
immediately  to  Mr.  Stanton's  office,  which  was  on  the 
second  floor,  on  the  north  front,  and  overlooked 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  and  the  White  House.  There, 
2  9 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

at  the  door,  I  waited  for  him  until  his  conference  with 
Secretary  Stanton  was  over.  Then  I  accompanied 
him  back  to  the  White  House.  From  the  moment 
Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  to  me  so  kindly  I  felt  at  home  in 
my  new  duties.  I  never  lost  the  feeling  which  came 
then  that,  while  the  President  was  so  great,  he 
was  my  friend.  The  White  House  never  awed  me 
again. 

For  the  next  three  weeks,  while  I  was  on  duty  the 
first  half  of  the  night,  I  went  to  the  War  Department 
with  Mr.  Lincoln  every  evening.  He  usually  talked 
to  me.  Several  times  the  topic  was  the  one  my  pres 
ence  naturally  suggested — the  possibility  of  an  at 
tempt  being  made  on  his  life.  Later  on  I  will  speak 
of  this  more  in  detail.  One  time  while  he  was  talking 
he  reached  out  and  took  my  hand,  and  I  walked  on 
for  a  few  paces  with  my  hand  in  his  warm,  kind 
grasp.  We  always  took  the  same  route,  because  there 
was  less  chance  of  being  observed  than  if  we  went  by 
the  big  north  entrance.  There  was  then  no  telegraph 
station  in  the  White  House,  so  the  President  had  to 
go  to  Secretary  Stanton's  office  to  get  the  latest  news 
from  the  front.  Since  there  was  practical  advan 
tage  in  going  himself,  for  he  could  be  more  free  from 
interruption  there  when  he  remained  to  discuss  mat 
ters  of  policy  (if  the  news  of  the  night  necessitated 
any  action) ,  it  would  never  have  occurred  to  Mr.  Lin 
coln  to  regard  his  own  personal  dignity  and  wait  for 
his  Secretary  to  come  to  him.  I  had  opportunity  to 
observe  the  difference  in  the  attitude  of  Secretary 
Stanton's  employees  from  ours  toward  the  President. 

10 


LINCOLN    AS    I    KNEW    HIM 

The  great  War  Secretary  was  a  martinet  for  discipline, 
and  none  of  the  clerks  wanted  to  be  around  when 
there  was  bad  news  from  the  front.  He  always  seem 
ed  to  me  a  very  bitter,  cruel  man.  Still,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  he  was  a  great  man.  His  own  subordi 
nates,  though  they  might  be  afraid  of  his  irascible 
temper,  admired  him  and  were  loyal. 

Beginning  with  the  ist  of  February,  I  was  on  duty 
the  second  half  of  the  night,  from  twelve  to  eight  in 
the  morning.     Often  I  had  to  wait  for  the  President 
to  return  from  the  War  Department ;    even  when  he 
came  back  comparatively  early  it  was  midnight  before 
he  got  to  bed.     His  bedroom  was  a  small  chamber  in 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  house.     Mrs.  Lincoln's 
was  a  larger  room  adjoining  it.     Mr.  Lincoln  always 
said,   "Good-night,  Crook,"  when  he  passed  me  on 
his  way  to  his  room,  but  gave  no  instructions  for  my 
guidance.     He  was  not  interrupted  after  he  retired 
unless  there  were  important  telegrams.     Even  when 
awakened  suddenly  from  a  deep  sleep — which  is  the 
most  searching  test  of  one's  temper  that  I  know — he 
was  never  ruffled,  but  received  the  message  and  the 
messenger  kindly.     No  employee  of  the  White  House 
ever  saw  the  President  moved  beyond  his  usual  con 
trolled  calm.     When  the  first  of  these  interruptions 
occurred  and  I  had  to  enter  the  President's  room,  I 
looked  around  me  with  a  good  deal  of  interest.     The 
place  the  President  slept  in  was  a  noteworthy  spot 
to  me.     It  was  handsomely  furnished;  the  bedstead, 
bureau,  and  wash-stand  were  of  heavy  mahogany,  the 
bureau  and  wash-stand  with  marble  tops ;  the  chairs 


ii 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

were  of  rosewood.     Like  all  the  other  chambers,  it 
was  covered  with  a  carpet. 

All  night  I  walked  up  and  down  the  long  corridor 
which,  running  east  and  west,  divided  the  second 
story  of  the  White  House  in  half.  Usually  the  house 
hold,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  was  asleep 
when  I  began  my  watch.  Occasionally,  however, 
something  kept  them  up,  and  I  saw  them  go  to  their 
rooms.  I  learned  very  soon  who  slept  behind  each 
door  that  I  passed  in  my  patrol.  Somehow  one  feels 
acquainted  with  people  when  one  is  the  only  one,  be 
sides  the  doorkeeper,  awake  in  a  great  house,  and  is 
responsible  for  the  safety  of  them  all.  As  I  said  be 
fore,  the  corridor  divided  the  private  apartments  of 
the  White  House  into  two  long  rows,  one  facing 
south,  the  other  north.  Beginning  at  the  west,  on 
the  south  side,  was  the  President's  room,  Mrs.  Lin 
coln's  just  east  of  it  and  communicating.  Then  fol 
lowed  a  guest-room,  which  communicated  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln's.  Next  to  this  was  the  library,  just  over 
the  Blue  Room,  and,  like  it,  an  octagon  in  shape ;  this 
was  used  as  the  family  sitting-room.  In  Mr.  Lincoln's 
time  a  private  passageway  ran  through  the  reception- 
room  adjoining  the  library  to  the  President's  office 
beyond.  By  this  the  President  could  have  access 
during  his  long  working-day  to  his  own  apartments 
without  being  seen  by  the  strangers  who  always  filled 
the  reception-room.  The  small  room  in  the  southeast 
corner  was  the  office  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  secretaries — Mr. 
Hay  and  Mr.  Nicolay.  On  the  other  side  of  the  cor 
ridor  Mr.  Nicolay,  when  he  slept  in  the  White  House, 

12 


LINCOLN    AS    I    KNEW    HIM 

had  the  chamber  at  the  eastern  end.  Next  to  his  was 
the  state  guest-room,  which,  unlike  any  other  room  in 
the  house,  possessed  a  large  four  -  poster  bed  with  a 
tester  and  rich  canopy.  Between  this  and  Taddie's 
room — Taddie  was  the  only  child  at  the  White  House 
at  this  time  —  three  smaller  rooms  and  a  bath-room 
intervened.  The  boy  was  just  opposite  his  father. 

When  in  my  patrol  I  came  near  to  the  door  of  the 
President's  room  I  could  hear  his  deep  breathing. 
Sometimes,  after  a  day  of  unusual  anxiety,  I  have 
heard  him  moan  in  his  sleep.  It  gave  me  a  curious 
sensation.  While  the  expression  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  face 
was  always  sad  when  he  was  quiet,  it  gave  one  the 
assurance  of  calm.  He  never  seemed  to  doubt  the 
wisdom  of  an  action  when  he  had  once  decided  on  it. 
And  so  when  he  was  in  a  way  defenceless  in  his  sleep 
it  made  me  feel  the  pity  that  would  have  been  almost 
an  impertinence  when  he  was  awake.  I  would  stand 
there  and  listen  until  a  sort  of  panic  stole  over  me. 
If  he  felt  the  weight  of  things  so  heavily,  how  much 
worse  the  situation  of  the  country  must  be  than  any 
of  us  realized!  At  last  I  would  walk  softly  away, 
feeling  as  if  I  had  been  listening  at  a  keyhole. 


II 

THE   WHITE   HOUSE   FAMILY  AND   OTHER   PEOPLE 

ON  the  1 5th  of  February  I  went  on  day  duty. 
During  that  time  I  necessarily  saw  more  of  the 
every-day  life  of  the  President  and  his  family.  Ev 
erything  was  much  simpler  than  it  is  now.  More  of 
the  family  life  was  open  to  the  scrutiny  of  the  peo 
ple  about.  I  remember  very  well  one  incident  which 
would  have  been  impossible  at  any  time  since.  I  was 
sent  for  by  the  President,  who  was  in  his  own  room. 
In  response  to  my  knock  he  called  out:  "Come  in!" 
I  entered.  To  my  great  surprise  I  saw  that  he  was 
struggling  with  a  needle  and  thread.  He  was  sewing 
a  button  on  his  trousers.  "All  right,"  he  said,  look 
ing  at  me  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  "Just  wait  until 
I  repair  damages." 

Mr.  Lincoln,  as  I  saw  him  every  morning,  in  the 
carpet  slippers  he  wore  in  the  house  and  the  black 
clothes  no  tailor  could  make  really  fit  his  gaunt,  bony 
frame,  was  a  homely  enough  figure.  The  routine  of 
his  life  was  simple,  too ;  it  would  have  seemed  a  tread 
mill  to  most  of  us.  He  was  an  early  riser;  when  I 
came  on  duty,  at  eight  in  the  morning,  he  was  often 
already  dressed  and  reading  in  the  library.  There 
was  a  big  table  near  the  centre  of  the  room ;  there  I 


THE    WHITE    HOUSE    FAMILY 

have  seen  him  reading  many  times.  And  the  book  ? 
We  have  all  heard  of  the  President's  fondness  for 
Shakespeare,  how  he  infuriated  Secretary  Stanton  by 
reading  Hamlet  while  they  were  waiting  for  returns 
from  Gettysburg;  we  know,  too,  how  he  kept  cabinet 
meetings  waiting  while  he  read  them  the  latest  of 
Petroleum  V.  Nasby's  witticisms.  But  it  was  the 
Bible  which  I  saw  him  reading  while  most  of  the 
household  still  slept. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  breakfasted  at  nine.  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  a  hearty  eater.  He  never  lost  his  taste 
for  the  things  a  growing  farmer's  boy  would  like.  He 
was  particularly  fond  of  bacon.  Plentiful  and  whole 
some  food  was  one  of  the  means  by  which  he  kept 
up  his  strength,  which  was  taxed  almost  beyond  en 
durance  in  those  days.  Even  hostile  newspapers 
commented  angrily  on  the  strain  to  which  the  Presi 
dent  was  subjected,  and  prophesied  that  he  would 
collapse  unless  some  of  the  pressure  of  business  was 
removed.  But  in  spite  of  his  gauntness  he  was  a  man 
of  great  physical  endurance.  Every  inch  of  his  six 
feet  four  inches  was  seasoned  and  tempered  force. 

He  needed  all  of  it ;  for  from  half-past  nine,  when  he 
came  into  his  office,  until  midnight,  when  he  went  to 
bed,  his  work  went  on,  almost  without  cessation.  He 
had  very  little  outdoor  life.  An  occasional  drive  with 
Mrs.  Lincoln  in  the  afternoon,  a  more  occasional  horse 
back  ride,  a  few  moments  to  fill  his  lungs  with  outside 
air  while  he  walked  the  few  paces  to  the  War  Depart 
ment,  was  the  sum  of  it.  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  anxious 
that  he  should  have  some  recreation.  I  have  carried 

15 


T  PI  ROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

messages  to  him  for  her  when  he  was  lingering  in  his 
office,  held  by  some  business.  One  beautiful  after 
noon  she  sent  for  him  so  many  times  that  she  became 
impatient,  and  told  me  to  tell  him  that  he  must  come. 
He  got  up  with  an  expression  of  great  submission  and 
said: 

"I  guess  I  would  better  go." 

The  friends  who  were  with  him  teased  him  a  little 
about  Mrs.  Lincoln's  show  of  authority. 

"If  you  knew  how  little  harm  it  does  me,"  he  said, 
"and  how  much  good  it  does  her,  you  wouldn't  wonder 
that  I  am  meek."  And  he  went  out  laughing. 

The  White  House  and  its  surroundings  during  war 
time  had  much  the  appearance  of  a  Southern  planta 
tion  —  straggling  and  easy-going.  On  the  east  side 
of  the  house  beyond  the  extension — since  removed — 
which  corresponded  to  the  conservatory  on  the  west, 
was  a  row  of  outhouses,  a  carriage-house  and  a  wood 
shed  among  them.  Back  and  east  were  the  kitchen- 
garden  and  the  stable  where  the  President's  two 
horses  were  kept.  South  of  the  house  was  a  short 
stretch  of  lawn  bounded  by  a  high  iron  fence.  Still 
beyond  was  rough  undergrowth  and  marsh  to  the 
river.  North  and  to  the  west  was  a  garden,  di 
vided  from  the  rest  of  the  grounds  by  tall  fences. 
It  was  a  real  country  garden,  with  peach-trees  and 
strawberry- vines  as  well  as  flowers.  It  was  winter, 
of  course,  when  I  was  there,  but  the  people  about  the 
house  told  me  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  used  to  pick  the 
strawberries  for  the  table  herself. 

I  saw  a  good  deal  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  while  I  was  on 

16 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

day  duty.  Very  few  who  were  not  about  the  house 
realized  how  exacting  were  the  duties  of  her  position. 
She  was,  of  course,  much  absorbed  by  social  duties, 
which  presented  difficulties  no  other  President's  wife 
has  had  to  contend  against.  The  house  was  filled, 
the  receptions  were  crowded,  with  all  sorts  of  people, 
of  all  varieties  of  political  conviction,  who  felt,  ac 
cording  to  the  temper  of  the  time,  that  they  had  a 
perfect  right  to  take  up  the  President's  time  with 
their  discourse  and  to  demand  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  social 
consideration.  Nor  could  there  be  discrimination  used 
at  the  state  dinner-parties ;  any  man  who  was  bearing 
a  part  in  the  events  of  the  day  must  be  invited — and 
his  women  folks.  Jim  Lane,  rough  old  Kansas  fighter, 
dined  beside  Salmon  P.  Chase  with  his  patrician  in 
stincts.  The  White  House  has  never,  during  my  forty 
years'  service,  been  so  entirely  given  over  to  the  pub 
lic  as  during  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration.  The  times 
were  too  anxious  to  make  of  social  affairs  anything 
more  than  an  aid  to  more  serious  matters.  It  was 
necessary,  of  course ;  but  it  made  it  difficult  for  a  first- 
lady-in-the-land  with  any  preferences  or  prejudices 
not  to  make  enemies  on  every  hand. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  had  to  give  some  time  to  household 
affairs.  Everything  was  comparatively  simple  at 
that  time ;  there  were  fewer  servants  than  have  been 
considered  necessary  since.  The  first  duty  of  Mrs. 
Lincoln's  day  was  a  consultation  with  the  steward, 
whose  name  was  Stackpole.  The  cook  was  an  old- 
time  negro  woman.  A  good  deal  of  domestic  super 
vision  was  necessary  with  the  mistress  of  the  house. 

17 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

For  state  dinners  the  regular  staff  was  entirely  inade 
quate;  a  French  caterer  was  called  in,  who  furnished 
everything,  including  waiters.  It  fell  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 
to  choose  the  set  of  china  which  the  White  House 
needed  at  this  stage.  It  was,  in  my  opinion,  the 
handsomest  that  has  ever  been  used  there.  In  the 
centre  was  an  eagle  surrounded  by  clouds;  the  rim 
was  a  solid  band  of  maroon.  The  coloring  was  soft 
and  pretty,  and  the  design  patriotic.  The  Presi 
dent's  wife  found  time,  too,  to  investigate  cases  of 
need  that  were  brought  to  her  attention,  and  to  help. 
I  know  of  such  cases.  She  was  kind  to  all  the  em 
ployees  of  the  White  House.  I  think  she  was  very 
generally  liked. 

Robert  Lincoln  was  an  officer  on  General  Grant's 
staff,  and  was  in  Washington  only  at  inauguration 
time  and  for  a  few  days  at  the  time  of  his  father's 
death.  But  he  was  a  manly,  genial  young  fellow, 
and  we  all  liked  him.  Taddie — he  was  christened 
Thomas — was  the  pet  of  the  whole  household.  He 
was  ten  years  old  at  the  time.  I  wish  I  could  show 
what  a  capital  little  fellow  he  was.  I  think  I  will 
have  to  take  a  few  minutes  to  talk  of  Taddie. 

Since  the  death  of  the  older  boy,  Willie,  which 
almost  broke  his  father's  heart,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  kept 
Tad  with  him  almost  constantly.  When  he  had  a 
few  minutes  to  spare  he  would  make  a  child  of  him 
self  to  play  with  the  boy.  We  all  liked  to  see  the 
President  romp  up  and  down  the  corridors  with  Tad, 
playing  horse,  turn  and  turn  about,  or  blind-man's- 
buff.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  such  a  sad-looking  man  usual- 

18 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

ly,  it  seemed  good  to  have  him  happy.  And  he  was 
happy  when  he  was  playing  with  the  boy.  I  am  sure 
the  times  when  he  was  really  resting  were  when  he 
was  galloping  around  with  Tad  on  his  great  shoulders. 
And  when  the  President  was  too  busy  to  play  with 
him,  Tad  would  play  quietly,  near  as  he  could  get, 
making  a  man  of  himself  to  be  company  to  his  father. 
That  was  the  sort  of  a  little  fellow  he  was. 

He  was  a  tender-hearted  boy.  Of  course,  all  sorts 
of  people  found  it  out  and  tried  to  get  at  the  Presi 
dent  through  him.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  criticised  some 
times  for  being  too  lenient  when  the  boy  begged  for 
some  one  he  had  been  asked  to  help.  But  I  don't 
believe  mercy  was  a  bad  thing  to  be  overdone  in  those 
days.  Tad's  loving  heart  was  like  in  kind  to  the  one 
that  made  the  President  suffer  so  when  he  had  to  be 
severe.  The  boy  was  like  his  father;  he  looked  like 
him.  But  with  Tad  there  was  no  realization  of  any 
thing  else  to  confuse  him.  And  when  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  what  some  people  called  too  indulgent  he  was 
just  listening  to  what  I  believe  was  the  greatest  thing 
in  him — his  great  human  heart.  And  I  don't  believe 
that  anything  but  good  ever  came  of  it,  either. 

I  remember  one  poor  woman  who  came  to  the 
White  House  to  get  her  husband  out  of  prison.  She 
found  Taddie  in  the  corridor,  and  told  him  that  her 
boys  and  girls  were  cold  and  starving  because  their 
father  was  shut  up  and  couldn't  work  for  them.  Poor 
little  Taddie  couldn't  wait  a  minute.  He  ran  to  his 
father  and  begged  him  to  have  the  man  set  free.  The 
President  was  busy  with  some  important  papers,  and 

19 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

told  him,  rather  absent-mindedly,  that  he  would  look 
into  the  case  as  soon  as  he  had  time.  But  Tad  was 
thinking  of  the  woman,  and  he  clung  to  his  father's 
knees  and  begged  until  the  President  had  to  listen, 
and,  listening,  became  interested.  So,  after  all,  Tad- 
die  could  run  back  to  tell  the  woman  that  her  hus 
band  would  be  set  at  liberty.  I  wish  you  could  have 
seen  the  child's  face.  The  woman  blessed  him  and 
cried,  and  Taddie  cried,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  my 
own  eyes  were  above  suspicion. 

Tad  had  a  great  many  friends  among  the  men  who 
were  about  the  White  House  in  various  capacities.  I 
myself  have  a  letter  from  him  written  from  Chicago 
in  July,  1865,  a  few  months  after  the  family  had  left 
the  White  House.  It  was  written  for  Tad  by  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  and  the  business  part  of  it — I  had  asked  if 
there  would  be  a  good  opening  for  me  in  Chicago — 
was  her  own,  of  course.  But  the  rest  is  all  Taddie: 

NEAR  CHICAGO,  July,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — I  received  your  letter  two  weeks  since, 
and  circumstances  prevented  an  earlier  reply.  If  you  come 
out  to  Chicago,  I  expect  you  can  do  as  well  here  as  any 
where  else.  We  will  be  very  glad  to  have  you  live  here,  for 
I  consider  you  one  of  my  best  friends.  You  could  get  a  pass, 
perhaps,  from  the  War  Department,  and  come  out  here  and 
have  a  try  at  least.  Your  board  wotild  not  cost  you  more 
than  in  Washington — you  will  know  best  about  it.  A  gentle 
man  who  does  business  in  the  city  wants  a  clerk;  he  lives  out 
here  and  goes  in  every  day.  He  says  he  must  write  a  good 
hand  and  not  be  very  slow.  Tell  us  how  Charlie  is  coming 
on,  and  Dana  Pendel — none  of  them  ever  write.  Tell  us 
about  the  new  people  in  the  house.  All  news  will  interest 
us.  Your  friend  truly, 

TADDIE. 

20 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

" Charlie"  was  Charles  Forbes,  an  Irishman.  He 
was  the  footman,  and  one  of  Tad's  friends.  "Dana" 
Pendel  was  Thomas  Pendel,  the  doorkeeper,  of  whom 
Taddie  was  also  very  fond. 

James  Haliday  was  another  friend.  He  was  a  car 
penter  who  worked  about  the  place,  and  was  directed 
by  the  President  to  put  up  a  stage  and  arrange  things 
for  theatrical  performances  in  the  little  room  just 
over  the  entrance.  That  was  when  Tad  was  stage- 
struck  and  found  it  necessary  to  endow  a  theatre  of 
his  own.  Perry  Kelly — a  boy  of  about  Tad's  age, 
whose  father  was  a  tinner  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue 
between  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth  Streets — was 
the  only  other  actor,  and  the  audience  was  composed 
chiefly  of  any  employees  of  the  place  who  could  be 
coerced. 

Haliday,  who  is  living  now  in  Boston,  was  also  a 
member  of  Tad's  military  company.  Like  all  other 
boys  of  those  exciting  times,  Tad  had  the  military 
fever.  But  he  was  allowed  to  gratify  it  in  a  way 
not  open  to  other  boys.  The  Secretary  of  War  gave 
him  a  lieutenant's  commission  and  an  order  on  the 
arsenal  for  twenty-five  guns ;  a  pretty  uniform  was 
made  for  him.  The  guns  were  kept  in  the  basement 
in  a  room  opening  off  of  the  furnace-room,  and  the 
Lieutenant  had  his  headquarters  in  a  little  place 
opposite  the  laundry.  He  not  only  drilled  his  com 
pany  outside  and  marched  them  through  the  house, 
but  he  kept  them  on  guard  duty  at  night  to  relieve 
the  "bucktails,"  as  the  military  guard  of  the  White 
House  was  familiarly  called.  The  first  night  of  this 

21 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

military  despotism  Haliday,  who  had  been  appointed 
a  sergeant,  appeared  before  his  superior.  He  saluted 
and  said: 

"Mr.  Lieutenant,  I  would  like  to  have  a  pass  this 
evening."  The  lieutenant  acknowledged  the  salute 
and  replied: 

"All  right;  I  will  give  the  sergeant  a  pass."  He 
scribbled  something  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  handed 
it  to  him.  The  other  members  of  the  company  were 
kept  up  until  ten  o'clock  that  night  on  guard  duty. 
The  next  day  Haliday,  knowing  what  he  had  escaped, 
again  sought  Lieutenant  Tad  in  his  basement  head 
quarters.  Taking  off  his  hat,  he  asked  for  a  pass. 
But  the  lieutenant  "got  mad." 

' '  What  kind  of  a  soldier  are  you  ?  You  want  a 
pass  every  evening!"  he  said. 

"All  right,  Mr.  Lieutenant."  Haliday  was  meek 
enough  now.  "I  will  be  on  duty  to-night." 

In  about  an  hour  Tad  sent  his  sergeant  to  the 
National  Theatre  and  left  word  with  another  under 
ling  that  when  Haliday  returned  he  was  to  be  given 
his  pass,  after  all.  That  night  the  rest  of  the  com 
pany  was  kept  on  duty  until  one  o'clock.  But  that 
was  somewhat  too  strenuous.  Either  there  was 
mutiny  or  the  commander-in-chief  interfered,  for 
that  was  the  last  night  they  were  on  duty  outside. 

Tad's  taste  of  command  in  military  matters  was 
so  pleasing  that  he  began  to  enlarge  his  field  of 
operations.  Haliday,  aided  by  the  gardener,  was 
about  to  take  up  the  carpet  in  the  congressional,  or 
state,  dining-room.  The  long  table  made  it  some- 

22 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

what  difficult,  and  they  were  debating  about  which 
end  to  attack  it  from,  when  Tad  appeared.  He  sur 
veyed  the  field. 

"Jim,"  he  said  to  Haliday,  "I  have  a  favor  to  ask 
of  you.  Jim,  grant  it,"  he  coaxed. 

Jim,  of  course,  said  "Yes,"  as  every  one  had  a  way 
of  doing — and  yet  it  wasn't  because  it  was  the  Presi 
dent's  son. 

"Now,  Jim,"  he  said,  taking  an  attitude  of  com 
mand,  "you  work  with  the  other  man.  I  will  boss 
the  job."  And  Haliday,  talking  about  it,  asserts  to 
this  day:  "He  told  us  just  how  to  go  about  it.  And 
there  was  no  one  could  engineer  it  better  than  he 
did."  Haliday  tells,  too,  that  Tad  often  borrowed 
money  of  him  when  some  poor  man  asked  him  for 
help  and  the  boy  had  nothing  in  his  pockets.  "And 
he  always  paid  me  back.  He  never  forgot  it." 

Taddie  could  never  speak  very  plainly.  He  had  his 
own  language ;  the  names  that  he  gave  some  of  us  we 
like  to  remember  to-day.  The  President  was  "papa- 
day,"  which  meant  "papa  dear."  Tom  Pendel  was 
"Tom  Pen,"  and  I  was  "Took."  But  for  all  his 
baby  tongue  he  had  a  man's  heart,  and  in  some  things 
a  man's  mind.  I  believe  he  was  the  best  companion 
Mr.  Lincoln  ever  had — one  who  always  understood 
him,  and  whom  he  always  understood. 

After  I  had  had  time  enough  to  become  somewhat 
used  to  seeing  the  White  House  family  every  day, 
the  crowd  of  men  and  women  who  filled  the  ante 
room  to  the  President's  office  began  to  interest  me. 
There  were  all  sorts  of  people — mothers  who  wanted 

23 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

to  have  their  husbands  returned  to  them  from  the 
army,  wounded  soldiers  who  wanted  help,  ambitious 
young  men  who  wanted  positions,  self-appointed  ad 
visers  who  wanted  to  be  listened  to,  and  sisters  of 
deserters  who  wanted  reprieves.  The  office-seekers 
were  the  most  persistent  and  unreasonable.  An  ex 
perience  that  a  friend  of  mine — Mr.  F.  J.  Whipple,  of 
New  York — had  with  the  President  will  show  how 
Mr.  Lincoln  felt  about  them. 

Mr.  Whipple  called  at  the  White  House  one  day. 
As  he  was  a  little  early,  he  had  to  wait  in  the  hall  op 
posite  the  President's  office.  He  had  not  been  there 
long  when  Mr.  Lincoln  came  in  from  the  private  part 
of  the  house.  Whipple  rose,  saying: 

"This  is  Mr.  Lincoln,  I  believe." 

"Yes.     What  can  I  do  for  you?" 

"Nothing,  sir.  You  have  not  an  office  I  would 
accept." 

Mr.  Lincoln  slapped  him  on  the  shoulder. 

"Is  it  possible!  Come  into  my  office.  I  want  to 
look  at  you.  It  is  a  curiosity  to  see  a  man  who  does 
not  want  an  office.  You  might  as  well  try  to  dip 
the  Potomac  dry  as  to  satisfy  them  all." 

They  had  a  few  minutes'  more  conversation,  while 
the  President  idly  made  some  lines  on  a  paper.  A 
few  days  later  I  was  in  the  room  with  the  President 
when  a  prominent  senator  called  upon  him.  Seeing 
a  pencil-sketch  on  the  desk,  the  visitor  asked  what 
it  was. 

"It  is  the  portrait  of  the  one  man  who  does  not 
want  an  office,"  Mr.  Lincoln  replied. 

24 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

On  one  occasion  the  President  was  going  over, 
with  Secretary  Stanton,  some  applications  for  com 
missions  in  the  army  when  they  came  to  the  last  one 
on  the  list. 

"This  fellow  hasn't  any  endorser,"  said  the  Presi 
dent.  Then  he  glanced  at  the  letter — became  inter 
ested.  "It's  a  good,  straightforward  letter,"  he  said. 
"I'll  be  his  endorser."  And  the  young  man  had  his 
lieutenancy." 

One  thing  which  gives  me  happiness  to  remember 
happened  on  the  2d  of  March.  I  was  drafted,  and  the 
other  guards  with  me.  Frankly,  I  didn't  want  to  go. 
I  had  served  in  the  army  already;  I  had  a  young 
wife  and  a  young  son  at  home  to  hold  me.  I  couldn't 
afford  to  pay  for  a  substitute.  So  I  joined  the  ranks 
of  the  people  with  grievances  whom  for  some  time 
I  had  been  watching  and  went  to  the  President. 
I  found  him  in  his  own  room,  in  dressing-gown  and 
slippers.  I  told  him  that  I  had  been  drafted,  and 
asked  him  if  he  could  do  anything  in  my  case  and  in 
that  of  Alexander  Smith,  who  was  my  special  friend 
on  the  force.  He  listened  to  my  story  as  patiently 
as  if  he  had  not  heard  hundreds  like  it.  I  like  to 
remember  how  kindly  he  looked  at  me.  When  I 
had  finished,  he  said: 

"Well,  I  can't  spare  you.     Come  into  my  office." 

I  followed  him  as  a  child  would  follow  his  father. 
He  seated  himself  at  the  desk  and  wrote  on  a  small 
card  a  note  to  Provost-Marshal  Frye  and  told  me  to 
take  it  to  him  and  get  the  answer.  Years  after  this 
the  Hon.  Robert  T.  Lincoln  gave  me  the  card  when 

3  25 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

he  was   Secretary  of  War,  and  I  have   it  still.     It 
reads : 

These  two  of  my  men,  Crook  and  Alexander,  are  drafted, 
and  I  cannot  spare  them.  P.  M.  G.,  please  fix. 

March  2,   1865.  A.   LINCOLN. 

"Alexander"  was  Alexander  Smith,  whose  last 
name  the  President  forgot.  The  other  men  had  their 
cases  ''fixed"  through  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

It  is  something  to  have  in  President  Lincoln's  own 
hand — even  though  the  motive  was  largely  kindness 
on  his  own  part — the  assurance  that  he  couldn't 
spare  me. 

Naturally  enough  the  events  of  the  time  which  are 
most  vivid  to  me  are  ones,  like  this,  in  which  I  took 
some  part.  Of  other  things  I  often  have  only  the 
recollection  that  any  one  else  in  Washington  would 
have  had.  Of  the  ceremonies  when  the  President 
was  a  second  time  installed  in  office,  for  instance,  I 
remember  very  little,  or  of  the  inaugural  ball — for  I 
wasn't  on  duty  at  either  of  those  events.  There  were 
the  usual  exercises,  of  course,  at  the  inauguration 
and  the  ball  in  the  Patent  Office.  We  were  all  in 
terested  in  that  because  it  was  rumored  that  Robert 
Lincoln,  who  was  popular  with  us,  escorted  the 
daughter  of  Senator  Harlan,  to  whom  he  was  after 
ward  married.  Of  the  great  public  reception  at  the 
White  House  the  evening  of  the  5th  I  remember 
chiefly  the  havoc  it  wrought.  The  White  House 
looked  as  if  a  regiment  of  rebel  troops  had  been  quar 
tered  there — with  permission  to  forage.  The  crowds 

26 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

were  enormous,  and  there  were  some  rough  people 
present.  A  fever  of  vandalism  seemed  to  seize  them. 
We  had  always  found  that  some  odds  and  ends  had 
been  carried  away  as  souvenirs  after  public  recep 
tion,  but  the  damage  created  by  this  one  was  some 
thing  monstrous.  I  suppose  if  it  had  not  been  that 
the  President  was  assassinated  so  soon  afterward  I 
wouldn't  remember  it  so  vividly.  But  looking  back, 
it  seems  some  premonition  that  there  would  not  be 
much  more  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  must  have 
come  to  them  and  made  them  lawless.  They  wanted 
to  get  mementos  while  they  could.  A  great  piece  of 
red  brocade,  a  yard  square  almost,  was  cut  from  the 
window-hangings  of  the  East  Room,  and  another 
piece,  not  quite  so  large,  from  a  curtain  in  the  Green 
Room.  Besides  this,  flowers  from  the  floral  design  in 
the  lace  curtains  were  cut  out,  evidently  for  an  orna 
ment  for  the  top  of  pincushions  or  something  of  the 
sort.  Some  arrests  were  made,  after  the  reception, 
of  persons  concerned  in  the  disgraceful  business. 

These  things  distressed  the  President  greatly.  I 
can  hardly  understand  why,  when  he  was  so  calm 
about  things  usually,  these  acts  of  rowdyism  should 
have  impressed  him  so  painfully.  It  was  the  sense 
less  violence  of  it  that  puzzled  him. 

"Why  should  they  do  it?"  he  said  to  me.  "How 
can  they?" 

But  Secretary  McCulloch's  appointment  to  succeed 
Mr.  Chase  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  seems  to  me 
about  the  biggest  event  of  the  period — for  I  really 
notified  him.  It  happened  this  way:  Before  the 

27 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

President  had  given  Mr.  McCulloch  any  indication 
that  he  intended  to  appoint  him,  he  sent  me  over  to 
the  Treasury,  where  McCulloch  was  Comptroller  of 
the  Currency.  I  was  to  ask  " Secretary  McCulloch" 
if  he  would  please  come  to  the  President.  Whether 
it  was  just  absent-mindedness  in  Mr.  Lincoln  or 
whether  is  was  just  his  own  way  of  doing  things  I 
don't  know.  But  I  went  over  and  repeated  the 
message  just  as  he  gave  it.  Mr.  McCulloch  blushed 
like  a  girl. 

' '  I  am  not  the  Secretary,"  he  said.  "There  is  some 
mistake." 

"You  will  be  as  soon  as  you  see  the  President, 
then,"  I  replied.  He  went  over  with  me  then  with 
out  further  protest.  Years  after  I  had  a  letter  from 
Mr.  McCulloch  alluding  to  the  incident  and  to  the 
way  the  President  looked  when  he  told  him  he  wished 
to  appoint  him  to  the  position  Secretary  Chase  had 
left  vacant. 

Late  in  March  Thaddeus  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania, 
called  upon  Mr.  Lincoln  to  urge  "a  more  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war,"  which  was  the  watchword  of 
those  men  of  his  own  party  who  criticised  the  Presi 
dent.  Mr.  Stevens  was  one  of  the  ablest,  as  well  as 
one  of  the  most  radical  men  then  in  Congress,  but  he 
was  a  very  impatient  man.  The  President  listened 
patiently  to  Mr.  Stevens 's  argument,  and  when  he 
had  concluded  he  looked  at  his  visitor  a  moment  in 
silence.  Then  he  said,  looking  at  Mr.  Stevens  very 
shrewdly : 

"Stevens,  this  is  a  pretty  big  hog  we  are  trying  to 

28 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

catch,  and  to  hold  when  we  do  catch  him.  We  must 
take  care  that  he  doesn't  slip  away  from  us."  Mr. 
Stevens  had  to  be  satisfied  with  the  answer. 

A  general  kindliness  marked  the  President's  man 
ner  toward  all  who  came  to  see  him.  The  greater 
part  of  the  callers  were  there  for  one  occasion  only. 
With  others  we  grew  familiar.  General  Sheridan 
was  a  conspicuous  figure.  He  was  a  short  man  with 
enormous  and  disproportionate  width  of  shoulder  and 
chest.  He  had  a  broad  red  face,  and  wore  a  little 
mustache  and  imperial.  Dr.  Gurley,  the  pastor  of 
the  New  York  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  which 
the  President  attended,  was  often  there,  as  was  Sur 
geon  Barnes,  the  White  House  physician.  Mr.  Lin 
coln  admired  General  Halleck  and  had  great  belief  in 
him ;  his  manner,  in  its  cordiality,  showed  it.  General 
Farnsworth,  too,  was  a  special  friend  of  the  Presi 
dent's.  Speed,  the  Attorney-General,  was  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  oldest  friend  in  Washington;  there  were  friend 
ship  and  confidence  between  the  two  men.  Marshal 
Ward  Lamon,  who  had  been  Mr.  Lincoln's  law  part 
ner,  was  a  warm  and  anxious  friend,  always  most 
solicitous  for  the  President's  safety.  Secretary  Welles, 
who  was  an  impressive  and  handsome  old  man,  with 
his  great  stature  and  bushy  white  hair,  the  President 
especially  liked. 

In  General  Grant  he  had  the  most  unbounded  con 
fidence.  The  two  men  understood  each  other.  There 
never  was  a  less  assuming  man  than  the  General.  I 
remember  seeing  him  in  the  corridor  at  one  of  the 
evening  receptions  just  before  he  entered.  He  had  on 

29 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

a  shabby  army  overcoat  and  a  slouch-hat.  I  couldn't 
help  contrasting  both  his  appearance  and  ability  with 
that  of  other  magnificent  gold-laced  officers  within. 
I  have  often  seen  the  President  and  General  Grant 
poring  over  maps  together.  I  know  that  no  move 
was  made  by  his  general  that  the  President  did  not 
understand  and  approve.  And  when,  later  on,  they 
met  at  Petersburg,  when  it  was  evident  that  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  faith  in  Grant  was  to  be  realized,  he  was 
positively  affectionate.  He  looked  as  if,  instead  of 
merely  shaking  hands,  he  would  have  liked  to  hug 
the  General. 

The  thing  that  most  impressed  me  was  that,  with 
one  exception,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  influenced  in  his 
judgment  of  men  in  the  slightest  degree  either  by 
personal  liking  or  by  enmity.  It  was  the  more  re 
markable  in  a  man  so  well  fitted  for  warm  friendship, 
so  lovable.  At  this  time  of  grave  personal  danger  his 
only  standard  of  measurement  was  fitness  to  serve 
the  Government.  Men  came  in  a  never-ending  stream 
to  the  White  House.  While,  as  I  have  said,  his  con 
stant  attitude  was  one  of  kindly  consideration,  it 
was  also  one  of  control.  He  was  eager  to  recognize 
the  ability  and  character  of  men  who  were  his  bitter 
political  enemies;  he  allowed  his  personal  friend  to 
retire  to  private  life  if  he  knew  that  the  general  in 
terest  would  be  promoted  by  so  doing. 

To  the  men  who  criticised  him,  as  did  Thaddeus 
Stevens,  he  showed  no  impatience;  to  the  men  who 
insulted  him,  as  did  Duff  Green,  he  answered  nothing; 
to  Salmon  P.  Chase,  whose  vanity  made  him  disloyal, 

30 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

in  spite  of  high  character  and  great  attainments,  he 
was  patience  itself.  In  connection  with  the  appoint 
ment  of  Chase  to  the  Chief -Justiceship  there  is  a  good 
story  which,  I  believe,  has  never  been  told.  It  was 
given  to  me  by  Mr.  John  B.  Alley,  who  was  Congress 
man  from  Massachusetts. 

It  was  generally  known  that  Mr.  Chase  wanted  to 
be  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  the  convention 
which  chose  Lincoln  for  his  second  term.  Mr.  Chase 
consulted  Sumner,  Alley,  and  other  friends  on  the  sub 
ject,  and  they  dissuaded  him,  urging  him  instead  to 
seek  the  Chief-Justiceship,  for  which  he  had  peculiar 
qualifications.  Chase  at  first  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
their  entreaties,  but  before  leaving  for  his  home  in 
Ohio  he  said  he  would  think  the  matter  over.  For 
several  weeks  Mr.  Alley  heard  nothing  of  him.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  the  Massachusetts  Congressman 
received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Chase,  saying  that  if  the 
appointment  were  tendered  him  he  would  accept. 

Mr.  Alley  immediately  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  and  put  the 
case  before  him  in  the  strongest  possible  light.  The 
President  listened  very  patiently  until  he  had  fin 
ished.  Then  he  began  to  talk.  He  gave  reasons  for 
not  appointing  Mr.  Chase.  He  spoke  of  Mr.  Chase's 
dislike  of  the  President.  He  talked  feelingly  of  the 
many  hard  things  Mrs.  Sprague,  Mr.  Chase's  daughter, 
had  said  of  the  President.  All  of  this  left  on  Mr. 
Alley  the  impression  that  it  was  useless  to  press  the 
matter  further. 

He  went  to  his  home  greatly  disappointed.  Very 
early  the  next  morning  a  messenger  came  from  the 

31 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

White  House  asking  him  to  call  at  his  earliest  con 
venience.  He  went  immediately  to  the  White  House. 
Mr.  Lincoln  met  him  very  cordially,  but  with  his  own 
twinkle  in  his  eye. 

"Alley,"  he  said,  "I  just  want  to  tell  you  that  I  am 
going  to  send  Chase's  nomination  to  the  Senate  to 
day.  He  is  to  be  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States." 
Alley  was  so  astonished  that  he  could  not  speak  for  a 
moment.  Then  he  said: 

"Mr.  President,  I  am  very  glad  to  know  it,  but— 
from  what  you  said — I  thought  the  case  was  hopeless." 

"Oh,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  "I  only  wanted  to  show 
you  what  could  be  said  on  the  other  side.  I  ought 
not  to  blame  Chase  for  the  things  his  daughter  said 
about  me." 

The  peculiar  humor  of  the  situation  was  not  ap 
parent  to  Mr.  Alley  at  the  time.  The  idea  of  making 
Chase  Chief  Justice  is  known  now  to  have  originated 
with  Mr.  Lincoln  himself,  and  had  been  fully  deter 
mined  before  Mr.  Alley  made  his  plea.  One  can 
imagine  the  President's  inward  appreciation  of  his 
own  little  joke  while  he  urged  with  all  seriousness 
that  the  position  he  was  fitted  for  should  be  with 
held  from  Salmon  P.  Chase  because  the  daughter  had 
said  feminine  things — possibly  about  the  President's 
social  demeanor. 

Earlier  than  this  the  resignation  of  Montgomery 
Blair  from  the  position  of  Postmaster-General  showed 
a  like  absence  of  personal  feeling  in  Mr.  Lincoln's 
public  policy.  Mr.  Blair  was  a  personal  friend  of  the 
President,  who  had  the  warmest  possible  feeling  for 

32 


ABRAHAM      LINCOLN 


THE    WHITE    HOUSE    FAMILY 

him  and  a  conviction  of  his  ability  and  integrity.  But 
Mr.  Blair  grew  out  of  sympathy  with  some  members 
of  his  party,  and  his  usefulness  was  impaired  by  fre 
quent  disputes  with  leading  Republicans.  Whatever 
Mr.  Lincoln's  opinion  was  as  to  the  relative  right  or 
wrong  of  the  disputants,  he  realized,  as  did  Mr.  Blair 
himself,  that  the  party  must  be  united  in  its  policy. 
Therefore  he  allowed  Mr.  Blair  to  resign,  much  as 
personally  he  had  wished  him  to  remain. 

The  President's  relationship  to  Secretary  Stanton 
was  another  instance  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  marvellous  self- 
control.  Where  the  good  of  the  nation  was  involved 
he  didn't  even  see  things  that  related  to  himself 
alone.  Secretary  Stanton  was  a  strong  man  and  de 
voted  to  his  country.  I  believe,  too,  that  he  really 
loved  the  President.  But  while  he  recognized  Mr. 
Lincoln's  greatness  and  was  loyal,  those  traits  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  which  were  antipathetic  to  his  own 
character  irritated  him  sometimes  almost  beyond  en 
durance.  Mr.  Stanton  was  not  a  man  of  much  self- 
control.  The  President's  tenderness  of  heart  seemed 
to  him  weakness.  The  fondness  for  reading  and  for 
jesting,  which  every  day  restored  the  balance  in  the 
President's  overweighted  mind,  seemed  to  Mr.  Stanton 
something  approaching  imbecility.  He  was  furious 
once  when  Mr.  Lincoln  delayed  a  cabinet  meeting  to 
read  the  witticisms  of  Petroleum  V.  Nasby.  When 
the  President,  during  hours  of  anxious  waiting  for 
news  from  a  great  battle,  was  apparently  absorbed 
in  Hamlet,  Mr.  Stanton,  whose  invectives  were  varied, 
called  him,  I  have  heard,  "a  baboon." 

33 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

To  such  expressions  of  a  natural  impatience  Mr. 
Lincoln  opposed  a  placid  front.  More  than  that,  he 
was  placid.  He  knew  Secretary  Stanton's  intense, 
irritable  nature.  He  knew  how  the  excitement  of 
the  time  tried  men's  tempers  and  shattered  their 
nerves.  He  himself,  apparently,  was  the  only  one 
who  was  not  to  be  allowed  the  indulgence  of  giving 
way.  So  Mr.  Stanton's  indignation  passed  unno 
ticed.  The  two  men  were  often  at  variance  when  it 
came  to  matters  of  discipline  in  the  army.  On  one 
occasion,  I  have  heard,  Secretary  Stanton  was  par 
ticularly  angry  with  one  of  the  generals.  He  was 
eloquent  about  him.  "I  would  like  to  tell  him  what 
I  think  of  him!"  he  stormed. 

"Why  don't  you?"  Mr.  Lincoln  agreed.  "Write 
it  all  down — do." 

Mr.  Stanton  wrote  his  letter.  When  it  was  finished 
he  took  it  to  the  President.  The  President  listened 
to  it  all. 

"All  right.  Capital!"  he  nodded.  "And  now,  Stan- 
ton,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  it  ?" 

"Do  with  it?     Why,  send  it,  of  course!" 

"I  wouldn't,"  said  the  President.  "Throw  it  in 
the  waste-paper  basket." 

"But  it  took  me  two  days  to  write— 

"Yes,  yes,  and  it  did  you  ever  so  much  good.  You 
feel  better  now.  That  is  all  that  is  necessary.  Just 
throw  it  in  the  basket." 

After  a  little  more  expostulation,  into  the  basket 
it  went. 

I  have  spoken  of  an  exception  to  the  rule  of  the 

34 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

President's  freedom  from  personal  feeling  in  his  rela 
tions  to  the  public  men  of  the  time.  That  exception 
was  Charles  Sumner.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  a  man 
who  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  party  which  had 
twice  chosen  Mr.  Lincoln  to  be  President,  who  was 
an  exponent  of  the  belief  which  determined  the 
most  momentous  action  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  career — the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves — should  have  been  the 
only  man,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  to  obtain 
the  President's  dislike. 

The  reason  of  this  dislike  may  never  be  satisfac 
torily  determined.  With  another  man  than  Mr.  Lin 
coln  the  explanation  would  have  been  a  perfectly 
simple  one.  Most  people  know  that  Sumner  was 
often  the  President's  severe  critic.  He  besieged  Mr. 
Lincoln  with  advice  in  and  out  of  season.  Few  of  the 
President's  public  utterances,  according  to  Senator 
Sumner,  were  free  from  grave  faults — his  condemna 
tion  included  both  principles  expressed  and  manner 
of  expression.  All  of  this  Mr.  Lincoln  accepted  pa 
tiently  and  humorously,  as  was  his  custom,  passing 
over  the  tediousness  of  it  all  because  of  the  high 
character  and  attainments  of  the  man.  Not  so  many 
persons  know,  possibly,  that  Sumner  was  actually  in 
opposition  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  Just  before  the  Presi 
dent's  second  nomination  Senator  Sumner  was  in 
volved,  with  Greeley,  Godwin,  and  others,  in  a  move 
ment  against  Mr.  Lincoln.  That  again,  if  the  Presi 
dent  ever  knew  of  Sumner 's  defection,  he  might  have 
passed  over  as  magnanimously  as  he  did  the  opposi 
tion  of  Chase.  It  is  doubtful  that  he  did  know  of  it; 

35 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

when  these  men  found  that  their  movement  was 
hopeless  they  fell  into  line  and  helped  to  elect  Mr. 
Lincoln. 

Senator  Sumner  was  a  fine-looking  man.  His 
presence  was  tall  and  commanding;  he  was  well- 
groomed,  even  exquisite  in  his  appointments.  He 
affected  the  English  type  in  his  clcUies,  wearing  large 
checks  and  plaids,  and  was  fond  of  displaying  white 
spats — which  were  not,  at  that  time,  often  seen  upon 
our  statesmen. 

Mr.  Sumner  was  a  friend  of  the  Chases,  a  particu 
larly  warm  friend  of  Mrs.  Kate  Chase  Sprague,  who 
sympathized  with  him  in  his  matrimonial  difficulties. 
He  was  also  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Lincoln.  Not  only  was 
he  present  at  state  receptions  and  dinners  (which,  of 
course,  would  argue  nothing),  but  he  was  Mrs.  Lin 
coln's  escort  at  the  second  inaugural  ball — especially 
invited,  he  told  a  friend,  by  Mr.  Lincoln;  and  he 
was  a  member,  with  Senator  and  Mrs.  Harlan,  the 
future  father  and  mother  in  law  of  Robert  T.  Lin 
coln,  of  the  gay  party  which  Mrs.  Lincoln  brought 
down  to  City  Point  after  the  fall  of  Richmond.  The 
President  did  not  interfere  with  Mrs.  Lincoln's  social 
relations.  This  is  only  one  instance  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
largeness  of  mind,  which  did  not  allow  personal  mat 
ters  to  influence  his  judgment. 

This  was  particularly  noteworthy  in  the  case 
of  Sumner  because,  added  to  the  fact  that  the 
Senator  antagonized  him  in  public  matters,  was  the 
personal  dislike  of  which  I  spoke.  If  what  El- 
phonso  Dunn  told  me  was  true,  this  was  great 

36 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  FAMILY 

enough  to  cause  Mr.  Lincoln  to  give  instructions, 
on  one  occasion,  that  Senator  Sumner  should  not  be 
admitted  to  the  White  House.  Dunn  was  on  duty 
in  the  corridor,  and  the  matter  naturally  made  a 
great  impression  on  him. 


Ill 

THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  RICHMOND 

ABOUT  noon  of  March  236.  the  President  called 
me  into  his  room,  and  said: 

''Crook,  I  want  you  to  accompany  me  to  City 
Point,  Virginia.  We  leave  this  afternoon.  If  you 
have  any  preparations  to  make,  you  must  attend  to 
them  at  once.'*  I  hurried  home  to  get  the  few  neces 
sary  clothes  and  say  good-bye  to  my  family.  It  was 
late  in  the  afternoon  when  I  rejoined  Mr.  Lincoln  on 
board  the  River  Queen,  which  was  lying  at  the  Seventh 
Street  wharf. 

There  were  a  good  many  people  on  the  quay  watch 
ing  the  boat.  Rumors  of  the  President's  departure 
were  about — I'm  sure  I  don't  know  how;  there  had 
been  no  announcement — and  everybody  wanted  to 
know  where  he  was  going.  It  took  very  little  to  get 
up  an  alarm  during  those  last  months  of  the  war. 
But  the  questions  were  not  answered,  and  the  crowd 
had  to  content  itself  with  a  glimpse  of  the  President 
on  the  deck.  They  watched  while  the  River  Queen 
left  her  moorings  and  slowly  steamed  down  the  Po 
tomac. 

The  President  was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
Taddie,  Captain  Penrose  of  the  army,  and  myself. 

38 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

Penrose  had  been  detailed  to  have  general  charge  of 
the  party.  He  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  man,  fair  like 
an  Englishman.  Bradford,  who  was  the  captain  of 
the  River  Queen,  had  done  everything  he  could  on 
such  short  notice  to  make  his  guests  comfortable. 
He  took  me  all  over  the  boat  and  showed  me,  with 
some  pride,  how  he  had  had  the  state-rooms  fitted 
up.  Taddie's  investigating  mind  led  him  everywhere. 
Before  he  went  to  bed  he  had  studied  every  screw 
of  ;the  engine  and  he  knew  and  counted  among  his 
friends  every  man  of  the  crew.  They  all  liked  him, 
too. 

Mr.  Lincoln  watched  the  city  until  he  could  see  it 
no  more.  At  first  he  was  interested  in  the  sights 
along  the  shores.  But  as  we  drew  near  Alexandria 
he  turned  back  to  catch  a  last  glimpse  of  the  city. 
All  the  sadness  of  his  face  came  out  now  when  he 
was  quiet.  I  realized,  as  I  had  never  done  before, 
what  the  war  meant  to  him  and  how  anxious  he  was. 
It  was  growing  dark,  and  the  air  was  raw  and  chilly. 
But  he  stayed  on  deck  until  we  had  passed  Alexan 
dria.  Then  every  one  went  inside. 

Captain  Bradford's  long  experience  of  the  Potomac 
had  made  him  acquainted  with  the  histories  of  spies 
and  blockade-runners  who,  in  the  early  days  of  the 
war,  had  stolen  across  the  river  to  the  Maryland 
side.  He  told  us  many  exciting  incidents ;  he  pointed 
out  the  landings  they  had  made.  The  President  was 
very  much  interested,  and  kept  the  captain  busy 
answering  questions.  It  was  nearly  midnight  when 
he  went  to  bed. 

39 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Tad  and  I  had  a  state  -  room  together.  Toward 
morning  I  was  startled  out  of  a  sound  sleep  by  some 
one  entering  the  room.  Before  I  could  speak  I  heard 
Mrs.  Lincoln's  voice:  "It  is  I,  Crook.  It  is  growing 
colder,  and  I  came  in  to  see  if  my  little  boy  has  covers 
enough  on  him."  In  a  little  while  I  was  awakened 
again.  This  time  it  was  by  a  sensation  of  great  dis 
comfort.  I  will  have  to  explain  that  I  was  a  country 
man  and  had  been  no  great  traveller.  I  had  never 
slept  on  a  boat  before.  It  appeared  to  me  that  the 
steamer  was  slowly  climbing  up  one  side  of  a  hill  and 
then  rushing  down  the  other.  I  have  since  learned 
that  I  was  seasick.  I  know  I  felt  awfully  blue. 
Taddie  was  still  asleep.  I  dressed  as  best  I  could, 
and  hurried  out  to  demand  from  the  captain  what 
was  the  matter  with  the  boat.  He  laughed  at  me  a 
little,  and  then  informed  me  that  we  were  in  Chesa 
peake  Bay,  near  ing  Fortress  Monroe,  and  that  it  was 
a  little  rough. 

Evidently  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  better  sailor  than  I 
was,  for  he  came  on  deck  in  a  few  minutes  looking 
very  much  rested. 

"I'm  feeling  splendidly,"  he  said.  "Is  breakfast 
ready?"  He  did  full  justice  to  the  delicious  fish 
when  it  was  served.  When  we  steamed  into  the 
mouth  of  the  James  and  calmer  water  I  recovered 
my  spirits  and  found  that  I  was  hungry. 

It  was  after  dark  on  the  24th  when  we  reached 
City  Point.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight  at  this  time, 
with  the  many-colored  lights  of  the  boats  in  the  har 
bor  and  the  lights  of  the  town  straggling  up  the  high 

40 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

bluffs  of  the  shore,  crowned  by  the  lights  from  Grant's 
headquarters  at  the  top. 

It  was  known  at  Grant  headquarters  that  the  Presi 
dent  was  coming,  and  a  lookout  had  been  kept.  As 
soon  as  the  River  Queen  was  made  fast  to  the  wharf, 
General  Grant  with  some  members  of  his  staff  came 
aboard.  They  had  a  long  consultation  with  the  Presi 
dent,  at  the  end  of  which  Mr.  Lincoln  appeared  par 
ticularly  happy.  General  Grant  had  evidently  made 
him  feel  that  the  end  of  the  conflict  was  at  hand, 
nearer  than  he  had  expected.  After  General  Grant 
had  gone,  Taddie  and  I  went  ashore  to  take  a  look 
at  the  place  by  starlight.  We  did  not  get  many  steps 
from  the  steamer  before  we  were  halted  by  a  sentinel. 
I  explained  who  we  were,  but  Taddie  thought  he 
would  go  back.  He  said  he  did  not  like  the  looks  of 
things.  He  wasn't  used  to  being  halted  by  sentinels 
who  didn't  know  who  he  was.  We  went  back  to  the 
boat.  Everybody  was  up  until  late.  The  President 
and  Mrs.  Lincoln  talked  of  the  trip;  they  were  in  very 
good  spirits. 

The  next  day,  the  25th,  was  clear  and  warmer. 
We  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  one  of  the  great 
centres  of  the  war.  In  Mr.  Lincoln's  estimation  it 
was  the  critical  point,  and  he  had  placed  his  lieuten 
ant-general,  the  man  in  whom  he  had  most  faith, 
in  charge.  The  Appomattox  and  the  James  come  to 
gether  at  City  Point.  The  harbor  thus  made  is  over 
hung  with  high  bluffs.  On  the  top  of  one  bluff  was 
a  group  of  houses,  which  Grant  and  his  staff  used  as 
headquarters.  The  harbor  was  crowded  with  craft 
4  41 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

of  all  kinds  —  fishing -boats,  row-boats,  sail -boats, 
transports ,  and  passenger-boats .  From  higher  ground 
in  the  vicinity  could  be  seen  the  tents  of  Lee's  army. 
It  was  a  busy  camp,  and  everything  was  in  motion. 
Just  west  of  our  troops  was  the  long,  curved  line  of 
Lee's  intrenchments,  stretching  from  Petersburg, 
south  of  the  James  and  fifteen  miles  from  City  Point, 
to  Richmond,  northwest  of  City  Point  and  nearly 
double  that  distance. 

We  all  went  ashore  and  visited  General  Grant's 
headquarters.  After  the  greetings,  General  Grant  in 
vited  the  President  to  take  a  ride  to  the  front,  where 
General  Meade  was  in  command.  When  we  started, 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  seen  to  be  on  a  black  pony  belonging 
to  General  Grant.  The  name  of  the  animal  was  Jeff 
Davis.  Everybody  laughed  at  the  idea,  and  at  the 
sight,  too,  for  the  President's  feet  nearly  touched  the 
ground.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  good  horseman,  but  al 
ways  rather  an  ungainly  sight  on  horseback.  He 
laughed  at  himself  this  time,  and  said,  "Well,  he 
may  be  Jeff  Davis  and  a  little  too  small  for  me,  but 
he  is  a  good  horse." 

Mrs.  Lincoln  rode  in  an  army  ambulance  with  Mrs. 
Grant,  who  was  a  member  of  the  party  for  that  day. 

It  had  been  intended  when  we  started  for  City 
Point  that  there  should  be  a  grand  review  of  the 
troops,  But  the  Confederates  were  active  the  first 
part  of  the  ten  days  before  we  left  to  visit  Richmond , 
and  the  preparations  for  the  final  operations  before 
Petersburg  were  being  made  the  latter  part  of  the 
time.  There  was  a  lull  in  between,  but  never  a  time 

42 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

when  it  was  possible  to  draw  all  the  soldiers  away 
from  their  positions.  So  we  never  had  the  grand 
review. 

We  saw  some  lively  skirmishing,  however,  between 
the  picket-lines  of  the  two  forces  while  we  were  at 
General  Meade's  headquarters.  We  were  on  a  hill 
just  east  of  where  the  troops  were  engaged;  it  was 
not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  from  the 
wood  where  the  fighting  was  in  progress.  We  could 
see  the  shells  as  they  were  fired;  but  while  we  were 
there  they  burst  in  the  air  and  did  no  damage.  The 
President  asked  whether  the  position  was  not  too 
close  for  the  comfort  of  his  party.  When  he  was 
assured  that  there  was  no  danger,  he  remained  two 
hours  watching  the  struggle,  and  turned  away  only 
when  the  firing  ceased. 

On  the  26th  Mr.  Lincoln  visited  General  Ord's  com 
mand  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  James  and  re 
viewed  the  troops.  They  were  brought  out  in  dress 
parade,  and  went  through  the  evolutions  of  actual 
war.  Mrs.  Ord  was  a  member  of  the  party.  To 
get  to  General  Ord's  command  we  had  to  cross  the 
James  in  a  boat,  and  then  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  Mrs. 
Grant  got  into  the  army  ambulance  as  before,  while 
Mrs.  Ord  and  the  gentlemen  rode  horseback.  On  the 
2 yth  General  Sherman  arrived,  and  there  was  a  con 
ference.  The  President  was  again  much  cheered  by 
the  confidence  of  both  generals  that  they  would  be 
successful  in  speedily  bringing  the  war  to  a  close. 

The  next  three  days  were  filled  with  incidents. 
On  one  occasion  the  President,  with  General  Grant, 

43 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Admiral  Porter,  Captain  Penrose,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  Tad- 
die,  and  myself,  went  up  the  Appomattox  to  Point  of 
Rocks,  where  we  were  rewarded  by  a  view  of  the 
country  for  miles  around.  General  Grant  pointed 
out  the  location  of  General  Lee's  army;  some  of  their 
tents  were  in  full  view.  Near  us,  as  we  stood  strain 
ing  our  eyes  to  see  all  we  could  of  our  Confederate 
adversaries,  was  a  great  oak-tree,  said  to  mark  the 
spot  where  Pocahontas  saved  the  life  of  Captain  John 
Smith.  An  inscription  nailed  to  it — "  Woodman, 
spare  this  tree" — gave  us  an  idea  of  the  respect  due 
the  patriarch.  The  best  view  was  to  be  had  from  the 
"Crow's-nest" — a  lookout  tower  constructed  by  Gen 
eral  Butler  when  he  was  "bottled  up"  there  earlier 
in  the  war.  I  think  that  the  President  really  threw 
off  the  load  that  was  on  his  mind  and  enjoyed  the 
day.  He  said  that  he  had,  and  looked  pleased. 

One  day,  while  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
were  going  through  the  hospital  at  City  Point,  doing 
what  they  could  to  cheer  up  the  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers  and  investigating  the  hospital  arrangements, 
some  one  told  them  that  Mr.  Johnson,  the  Vice- 
President,  had  arrived.  Mr.  Lincoln  said:  "Well,  I 
guess  he  can  get  along  without  me."  They  did  not 
meet  at  all  during  the  visit.  I  do  not  know  whether 
this  meant  that  the  President  did  not  like  Mr.  John 
son  or  not.  It  may  have  been  merely  that  he  felt 
that  he  was  at  City  Point  for  a  certain  purpose,  and 
had  no  time  for  other  things.  The  fact  remains  that 
he  was  not  eager  to  see  Mr.  Johnson.  The  testimony 
of  Major  A.  E.  Johnson,  who  was  Secretary  Stanton's 

44 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

private  secretary,  is  interesting  in  this  connection. 
Major  Johnson  was  present  when  the  news  came  that 
Mr.  Johnson  had  been  chosen  to  be  Mr.  Lincoln's 
running -mate  in  the  second  election.  He  says  that 
the  President  said:  "So  they  have  chosen  him— I 
thought  perhaps  he  would  be  the  man.  He  is  a 
strong  man.  I  hope  he  may  be  the  best  man.  But— 
And,  since  the  President  rose  then  and  went  out  of 
the  room,  the  "but"  was  never  explained. 

The  President  made  several  trips  up  the  James 
River  to  visit  Admiral  Porter  and  see  his  iron-clad 
fleet.  One  day  he  dined  with  him. 

Not  long  before  the  final  assault  upon  Petersburg 
a  curious  incident  happened.  A  man  came  on  board 
the  River  Queen  and  asked  Captain  Bradford  if  he 
could  see  the  President.  He  was  referred  to  me. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  instructed  me  not  to  admit  any  one 
but  General  Grant  or  Admiral  Porter,  so  I  told  the 
man  that  the  President  was  not  to  be  seen.  The 
visitor  became  very  much  excited.  He  said  that  he 
had  rendered  Mr.  Lincoln  valuable  services  in  Illinois 
during  his  campaign  for  the  Presidency,  and  had 
spent  large  sums  of  money.  He  was  in  trouble;  he 
must  see  the  President.  He  protested  that  he  was 
known  to  Mr.  Lincoln  personally.  I  asked  his  name. 
At  first  he  refused  to  give  it,  but  finally  said  that  it 
was  "Smith"  and  that  he  lived  near  Mr.  Lincoln's 
home  in  Illinois. 

I  went  to  the  President  and  carried  "Smith's" 
message.  Mr.  Lincoln  laughed  at  first.  "Smith' 
is,  of  course,  an  uncommon  name."  Then  he  became 

45 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

serious.  "If  what  he  says  is  true,  I  would  know  him. 
But  I  do  not.  The  man  is  an  impostor,  and  I  won't 
see  him." 

I  went  back  to  "Smith"  with  the  President's  an 
swer.  The  man  was  very  much  disturbed,  and  again 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  see  him.  When  that  failed 
he  tried  to  bribe  me  to  take  him  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  I 
ordered  him  to  leave  the  boat  at  once,  and  when  he 
delayed  told  him  I  would  have  him  arrested  if  he 
did  not.  He  turned  to  Captain  Bradford  and  said, 
defiantly,  "If  Mr.  Lincoln  does  not  know  me  now, 
he  will  know  me  damned  soon  after  he  does  see  me." 
He  went  on  shore,  and  the  moment  after  he  had 
crossed  the  gangplank  he  disappeared.  I  watched 
him,  but  could  not  see  where  he  had  gone. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  every  one  was 
anxious  to  discover  the  accomplices  of  the  murderer. 
I  called  attention  to  this  man  ' '  Smith ' '  who  had  tried 
so  hard  to  be  admitted  to  Lincoln's  presence  at  City 
Point.  It  was  known  that  Surratt  had  been  at  City 
Point  at  that  time,  and  I  was  requested  to  visit  Sur 
ratt  and  see  if  I  could  identify  him  as  "Smith."  I 
went  to  court,  and  Taddie  went  with  me.  I  had 
seen  Surratt  before  the  war ;  we  had  lived  in  the  same 
county  in  Maryland.  I  think  "Smith"  and  Surratt 
were  the  same  man.  It  was  impossible,  however,  for 
me  to  be  absolutely  sure.  For  "Smith"  was  ragged 
and  dirty  and  very  much  sunburned;  he  looked  like 
a  tramp.  While  Surratt,  at  the  time  I  saw  him, 
looked  like  a  very  sick  man,  pale  and  emaciated.  In 
every  other  respect  they  looked  alike.  The  difference 

46 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

in  appearance  might  easijy  have  been  brought  about 
by  circumstances  or  by  a  slight  disguise.  I  shall 
always  believe  that  Surra tt  was  seeking  an  oppor 
tunity  to  assassinate  the  President  at  this  time. 

As  March  31,  1865,  drew  near,  the  President  (then 
at  City  Point,  Virginia)  knew  that  Grant  was  to 
make  a  general  attack  upon  Petersburg,  and  grew 
depressed.  The  fact  that  his  own  son  was  with 
Grant  was  one  source  of  anxiety.  But  the  knowledge 
of  the  loss  of  life  that  must  follow  hung  about  him 
until  he  could  think  of  nothing  else.  On  the  3ist 
there  was,  of  course,  no  news.  Most  of  the  first  day 
of  April  Mr.  Lincoln  spent  in  the  telegraph-office,  re 
ceiving  telegrams  and  sending  them  on  to  Washing 
ton.  Toward  evening  he  came  back  to  the  River 
Queen,  on  which  we  had  sailed  from  Washington  to 
City  Point. 

There  his  anxiety  became  more  intense.  There  had 
been  a  slight  reverse  during  the  day;  he  feared  that 
the  struggle  might  be  prolonged.  We  could  hear  the 
cannon  as  they  pounded  away  at  Drury's  Bluff  up  the 
river.  We  knew  that  not  many  miles  away  Grant 
was  pouring  fire  into  Lee's  forces  about  Petersburg. 

It  grew  dark.  Then  we  could  see  the  flash  of  the 
cannon.  Mr.  Lincoln  would  not  go  to  his  room. 
Almost  all  night  he  walked  up  and  down  the  deck, 
pausing  now  and  then  to  listen  or  to  look  out  into 
the  darkness  to  see  if  he  could  see  anything.  I  have 
never  seen  such  suffering  in  the  face  of  any  man  as 
was  in  his  that  night. 

On  the  morning  of  April  26.  a  message  came  from 

47 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

General  Grant  asking  the  President  to  come  to  his 
headquarters,  some  miles  distant  from  City  Point 
and  near  Petersburg.  It  was  on  Sunday.  We  rode 
out  to  the  intrenchments,  close  to  the  battle-ground. 
Mr.  Lincoln  watched  the  life-and-death  struggle  for 
some  time,  and  then  returned  to  City  Point.  In  the 
evening  he  received  a  despatch  from  General  Grant 
telling  him  that  he  had  pushed  Lee  to  his  last  lines 
about  Petersburg.  The  news  made  the  President 
happy.  He  said  to  Captain  Penrose  that  the  end  of 
the  war  was  now  in  sight.  He  could  go  to  bed  and 
sleep  now.  I  remember  how  cheerful  was  his  ''Good 
night,  Crook." 

On  Monday,  the  3d,  a  message  came  to  the  Presi 
dent  that  Petersburg  was  in  possession  of  the  Federal 
army,  and  that  General  Grant  was  waiting  there  to 
see  him.  We  mounted  and  rode  over  the  battle-field 
to  Petersburg.  As  we  rode  through  Fort  Hell  and 
Fort  Damnation — as  the  men  had  named  the  out 
posts  of  the  two  armies  which  faced  each  other,  not 
far  apart — many  of  the  dead  and  dying  were  still  on 
the  ground.  I  can  still  see  one  man  with  a  bullet-hole 
through  his  forehead,  and  another  with  both  arms 
shot  away.  As  we  rode,  the  President's  face  settled 
into  its  old  lines  of  sadness. 

At  the  end  of  fifteen  miles  we  reached  Petersburg, 
and  were  met  by  Captain  Robert  Lincoln,  of  General 
Grant's  staff,  who,  with  some  other  officers,  escorted 
us  to  General  Grant.  We  found  him  and  the  rest  of 
his  staff  sitting  on  the  piazza  of  a  white  frame  house. 
Grant  did  not  look  like  one's  idea  of  a  conquering 

48 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

hero.  He  didn't  appear  exultant,  and  he  was  as 
quiet  as  he  had  ever  been.  The  meeting  between 
Grant  and  Lincoln  was  cordial;  the  President  was 
almost  affectionate.  While  they  were  talking  I  took 
the  opportunity  to  stroll  through  Petersburg.  It 
seemed  deserted,  but  I  met  a  few  of  the  inhabitants. 
They  said  they  were  glad  that  the  Union  army  had 
taken  possession;  they  were  half  starved.  They  cer 
tainly  looked  so.  The  tobacco  warehouses  were  on 
fire,  and  boys  were  carrying  away  tobacco  to  sell  to 
the  soldiers.  I  bought  a  five-pound  bale  of  smoking- 
tobacco  for  twenty-five  cents.  Just  before  we  started 
back  a  little  girl  came  up  with  a  bunch  of  wild  flowers 
for  the  President.  He  thanked  the  child  for  them 
kindly,  and  we  rode  away.  Soon  after  we  got  back  to 
City  Point  news  came  of  the  evacuation  of  Richmond. 

In  the  midst  of  the  rejoicing  some  Confederate 
prisoners  were  brought  aboard  transports  at  the  dock 
near  us.  The  President  hung  over  the  rail  and 
watched  them.  They  were  in  a  pitiable  condition, 
ragged  and  thin;  they  looked  half  starved.  When 
they  were  on  board  they  took  out  of  their  knapsacks 
the  last  rations  that  had  been  issued  to  them  before 
capture.  There  was  nothing  but  bread,  which  looked 
as  if  it  had  been  mixed  with  tar.  When  they  cut  it 
we  could  see  how  hard  and  heavy  it  was ;  it  was  more 
like  cheese  than  bread. 

"Poor  fellows!"  Mr.  Lincoln  said.  "It's  a  hard  lot. 
Poor  fellows—" 

I  looked  up.  His  face  was  pitying  and  sorrowful. 
All  the  happiness  had  gone. 

49 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

On  the  4th  of  April  Admiral  Porter  asked  the 
President  to  go  to  Richmond  with  him.  At  first  the 
President  did  not  want  to  go.  He  knew  it  was  fool 
hardy.  And  he  had  no  wish  to  see  the  spectacle  of 
the  Confederacy's  humiliation.  It  has  been  generally 
believed  that  it  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  own  idea,  and  he 
has  been  blamed  for  rashness  because  of  it.  I  under 
stand  that  when  Mr.  Stanton,  who  was  a  vehement 
man,  heard  that  the  expedition  had  started,  he  was 
so  alarmed  that  he  was  angry  against  the  President. 
"That  fool!"  he  exclaimed.  Mr.  Lincoln  knew  per 
fectly  well  how  dangerous  the  trip  was,  and,  as  I  said, 
at  first  he  did  not  want  to  go,  realizing  that  he  had 
no  right  to  risk  his  life  unnecessarily.  But  he  was 
convinced  by  Admiral  Porter's  arguments.  Admiral 
Porter  thought  that  the  President  ought  to  be  in 
Richmond  as  soon  after  the .  surrender  as  possible. 
In  that  way  he  could  gather  up  the  reins  of  govern 
ment  most  readily  and  give  an  impression  of  con 
fidence  in  the  South  that  would  be  helpful  in  the 
reorganization  of  the  government.  Mr.  Lincoln  im 
mediately  saw  the  wisdom  of  this  position  and 
went  forward,  calmly  accepting  the  possibility  of 
death. 

Mrs.  Lincoln,  by  this  time,  had  gone  back  to  Wash 
ington.  Mr.  Lincoln,  Taddie,  and  I  went  up  the  James 
River  on  the  River  Queen  to  meet  Admiral  Porter's 
fleet.  Taddie  went  down  immediately  to  inspect  the 
engine  and  talk  with  his  friends  the  sailors;  the 
President  remained  on  deck.  Near  where  Mr.  Lin 
coln  sat  was  a  large  bowl  of  apples  on  a  table — there 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

must  have  been  at  least  half  a  peck.  The  President 
reached  forward  for  one. 

"These  must  have  been  put  here  for  us,"  he  said. 
"I  guess  I  will  sample  them."  We  both  began  to 
pare  and  eat.  Before  we  reached  the  Admiral's  flag 
ship  every  apple  had  disappeared — and  the  parings 
too.  When  the  last  one  was  gone  the  President  said, 
with  a  smile,  "I  guess  I  have  cleaned  that  fellow 
out." 

When  we  met  Admiral  Porter's  fleet  the  ques 
tion  of  the  best  way  to  get  to  Richmond  had  to  be 
decided.  While  some  effort  had  been  made  to  fish 
the  torpedoes  and  other  obstructions  out  of  the  water, 
but  little  headway  had  been  made.  The  river  was 
full  of  wreckage  of  all  sorts,  and  torpedoes  were  float 
ing  everywhere.  The  plan  had  been  to  sail  to  Rich 
mond  in  Admiral  Porter's  flag-ship  Malvern,  escorted 
by  the  Bat,  and  with  the  Columbus  to  carry  the  horses. 
But  it  was  soon  evident  that  it  would  not  be  possible 
to  get  as  large  a  boat  as  the  Malvern  through  at 
Drury's  Bluff,  where  the  naturally  narrow  and  rapid 
channel  was  made  impassable  by  a  boat  which  had 
missed  the  channel  and  gone  aground.  It  was  deter 
mined  to  abandon  the  Malvern  for  the  captain's  gig, 
manned  by  twelve  sailors.  When  the  party,  consist 
ing  of  President  Lincoln,  Admiral  Porter,  Captain  Pen- 
rose,  Taddie,  and  myself,  were  seated,  the  Bat,  a  little 
tug  which  the  President  had  used  for  his  trips  about 
City  Point,  came  alongside  and  took  us  in  tow.  There 
were  a  number  of  marines  on  board  the  tug.  We 
were  kept  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  tug  by  means 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

of  a  long  hawser,  so  that  if  she  struck  a  torpedo  and 
was  blown  up  the  President  and  his  party  would  be 
safe.  Even  with  this  precaution  the  trip  was  ex 
citing  enough.  On  either  side  dead  horses,  broken 
ordnance,  wrecked  boats  floated  near  our  boat,  and 
we  passed  so  close  to  torpedoes  that  we  could  have 
put  out  our  hands  and  touched  them.  We  were 
dragged  over  one  wreck  which  was  so  near  the  surface 
that  it  could  be  clearly  seen. 

Beyond  Drury's  Bluff,  at  a  point  where  a  bridge 
spans  the  water,  the  tug  was  sent  back  to  help  a 
steamboat  which  had  stuck  fast  across  the  stream. 
It  seems  that  it  was  the  Allison,  a  captured  Confed 
erate  vessel,  and  Admiral  Farraglit,  who  had  taken 
it,  was  on  board.  The  marines,  of  course,  went  with 
the  tug.  In  the  attempt  to  help  the  larger  boat  the 
tug  was  grounded.  Then  we  went  on  with  no  other 
motive-power  than  the  oars  in  the  arms  of  the  twelve 
sailors. 

The  shore  for  some  distance  before  we  reached 
Richmond  was  black  with  negroes.  They  had  heard 
that  President  Lincoln  was  on  his  way — they  had 
some  sort  of  an  underground  telegraph,  I  am  sure. 
They  were  wild  with  excitement,  and  yelling  like  so 
many  wild  men,  "Bar  comes  Massa  Linkum,  de 
Sabier  ob  de  Ian* — we  is  so  glad  to  see  him!"  We 
landed  at  the  Rocketts,  over  a  hundred  yards  back  of 
Libby  Prison.  By  the  time  we  were  on  shore  hun 
dreds  of  black  hands  were  outstretched  to  the  Presi 
dent,  and  he  shook  some  of  them  and  thanked  the 
darkies  for  their  welcome.  While  we  stood  still  a 

52 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

few  minutes  before  beginning  our  walk  through  the 
city,  we  saw  some  soldiers  not  far  away  "initiating" 
some  negroes  by  tossing  them  on  a  blanket.  When 
they  came  down  they  were  supposed  to  be  trans 
formed  into  Yankees.  The  darkies  yelled  lustily 
during  the  process,  and  came  down  livid  under  their 
black  skins.  But  they  were  all  eager  for  the  ordeal. 
The  President  laughed  boyishly;  I  heard  him  after 
ward  telling  some  one  about  the  funny  sight. 

We  formed  in  line.  Six  sailors  were  in  advance 
and  six  in  the  rear.  They  were  armed  with  short 
carbines.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  the  centre,  with  Ad 
miral  Porter  and  Captain  Penrose  on  the  right,  and  I 
on  the  left,  holding  Taddie  by  the  hand.  I  was 
armed  with  a  Colt's  revolver.  We  looked  more  like 
prisoners  than  anything  else  as  we  walked  up  the 
streets  of  Richmond  not  thirty-six  hours  after  the 
Confederates  had  evacuated. 

At  first,  except  the  blacks,  there  were  not  many 
people  on  the  streets.  But  soon  we  were  walking 
through  streets  that  were  alive  with  spectators. 
Wherever  it  was  possible  for  a  human  being  to  find 
a  foothold  there  was  some  man  or  woman  or  boy 
straining  his  eyes  after  the  President.  Every  win 
dow  was  crowded  with  heads.  Men  were  hanging 
from  tree-boxes  and  telegraph-poles.  But  it  was  a 
silent  crowd.  There  was  something  oppressive  in 
those  thousands  of  watchers  without  a  sound,  either 
of  welcome  or  hatred.  I  think  we  would  have  wel 
comed  a  yell  of  defiance.  I  stole  a  look  sideways  at 
Mr.  Lincoln.  His  face  was  set.  It  had  the  calm  in 

53 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

it  that  comes  over  the  face  of  a  brave  man  when  he 
is  ready  for  whatever  may  come.  In  all  Richmond 
the  only  sign  of  welcome  I  saw,  after  we  left  the 
negroes  at  the  landing-place  and  until  we  reached 
our  own  men,  was  from  a  young  lady  who  was  on  a 
sort  of  bridge  that  connected  the  Spottswood  House 
with  another  hotel  across  the  street.  She  had  an 
American  flag  over  her  shoulders. 

We  had  not  gone  far  when  the  blinds  of  a  second- 
story  window  of  a  house  on  our  left  were  partly 
opened,  and  a  man  dressed  in  gray  pointed  something 
that  looked  like  a  gun  directly  at  the  President.  I 
dropped  Tad's  hand  and  stepped  in  front  of  Mr. 
Lincoln.  I  was  sure  he  meant  to  shoot.  Later  the 
President  explained  it  otherwise.  But  we  were  all  so 
aware  of  the  danger  of  his  entrance  into  Richmond 
right  on  the  heels  of  the  army,  with  such  bitterness 
of  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Confederates,  the  streets 
swarming  with  disorderly  characters,  that  our  nerves 
were  not  steady.  It  seems  to  me  nothing  short  of 
miraculous  that  some  attempt  on  his  life  was  not 
made.  It  is  to  the  everlasting  glory  of  the  South 
that  he  was  permitted  to  come  and  go  in  peace. 

We  were  glad  when  we  reached  General  Weitzel's 
headquarters  in  the  abandoned  Davis  mansion  and 
were  at  last  among  friends.  Every  one  relaxed  in 
the  generous  welcome  of  the  General  and  his  staff. 
The  President  congratulated  General  Weitzel,  and  a 
jubilation  followed. 

The  Jefferson  Davis  home  was  a  large  house  of 
gray  stucco,  with  a  garden  at  the  back.  It  was  a  fine 

54 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

place,  though  everything  looked  dilapidated  after  the 
long  siege.  It  was  still  completely  furnished,  and 
there  was  an  old  negro  house-servant  in  charge.  He 
told  me  that  Mrs.  Davis  had  ordered  him  to  have  the 
house  in  good  condition  for  the  Yankees. 

"I  am  going  out  into  the  world  a  wanderer  without 
a  home,"  she  had  said  when  she  bade  him  good-bye. 

I  was  glad  to  know  that  he  was  to  have  every 
thing  "in  good  condition,"  for  I  was  thirsty  after  so 
much  excitement,  and  thought  his  orders  must  surely 
have  included  something  to  drink.  I  put  the  ques 
tion  to  him.  He  said, 

"Yes,  indeed,  boss,  there  is  some  fine  old  whiskey 
in  the  cellar." 

In  a  few  minutes  he  produced  a  long,  black  bottle. 
The  bottle  was  passed  around.  When  it  came  back 
it  was  empty.  Every  one  had  taken  a  pull  except 
the  President,  who  never  touched  anything  of  the 
sort. 

An  officer's  ambulance  was  brought  to  the  door, 
and  President  Lincoln,  Admiral  Porter,  General  Weit- 
zel,  With  some  of  his  staff,  Captain  Penrose,  and  Tad- 
die  took  their  seats.  There  was  no  room  for  me. 

"Where  is  the  place  for  Crook  ?"  Mr.  Lincoln  asked. 
"I  want  him  to  go  with  me."  Then  they  provided 
me  with  a  saddle-horse,  and  I  rode  by  the  side  on 
which  Mr.  Lincoln  sat.  We  went  through  the  city. 
Everywhere  were  signs  of  war,  hundreds  of  homes 
had  been  fired,  in  some  places  buildings  were  still 
burning.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  we  could  get 
along,  the  crowd  was  so  great.  We  passed  Lib  by 

55 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Prison.  The  only  place  that  we  entered  was  the 
capitol.  We  were  shown  the  room  that  had  been 
occupied  by  Davis  and  his  cabinet.  The  furniture 
was  completely  wrecked;  the  coverings  of  desks  and 
chairs  had  been  stripped  off  by  relic-hunters,  and  the 
chairs  were  hacked  to  pieces. 

The  ambulance  took  us  back  to  the  wharf.  Ad 
miral  Porter's  flag-ship  Malvern  had  by  this  time 
made  her  way  up  the  river,  and  we  boarded  her.  It 
was  with  a  decided  feeling  of  relief  that  we  saw  the 
President  safe  on  board. 

We  did  not  start  back  until  the  next  morning,  so 
there  was  time  for  several  rumors  of  designs  against 
the  President's  life  to  get  abroad.  But  although  he 
saw  many  visitors,  there  was  no  attempt  against  him. 
Nothing  worse  happened  than  the  interview  with 
Mr.  Duff  Green. 

Duff  Green  was  a  conspicuous  figure  at  the  time. 
He  was  a  newspaper  man,  an  ardent  rebel.  He  al 
ways  carried  with  him  a  huge  staff,  as  tall  as  he  was 
himself — and  he  was  a  tall  man.  Admiral  Porter 
published  an  account  of  the  interview  in  the  New 
York  Tribune  of  January,  1885,  which  was  not  alto 
gether  accurate.  What  really  happened  was  this: 

As  Mr.  Green  approached  him,  the  President  held 
out  his  hand.  Mr.  Green  refused  to  take  it,  saying, 
"I  did  not  come  to  shake  hands."  Mr.  Lincoln  then 
sat  down;  so  did  Mr.  Green.  There  were  present  at 
the  time  General  Weitzel,  Admiral  Porter,  one  or  two 
others,  and  myself.  Mr.  Green  began  to  abuse  Mr. 
Lincoln  for  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the  struggle 

56 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

between  the  North  and  the  South.  His  last  words 
were, 

"I  do  not  know  how  God  and  your  conscience  will 
let  you  sleep  at  night  after  being  guilty  of  the  notori 
ous  crime  of  setting  the  niggers  free." 

The  President  listened  to  his  diatribe  without  the 
slightest  show  of  emotion.  He  said  nothing.  There 
was  nothing  in  his  face  to  show  that  he  was  angry. 
When  Mr.  Green  had  exhausted  himself,  he  said, 

"I  would  like,  sir,  to  go  to  my  friends." 

The  President  turned  to  General  Weitzel  and  said, 
"  General,  please  give  Mr.  Green  a  pass  to  go  to  his 
friends."  Mr.  Green  was  set  ashore,  and  was  seen 
no  more. 

That  night  Taddie  and  I  were  fast  asleep  when  I 
was  startled  into  wake  fulness.  Something  tall  and 
white  and  ghostly  stood  by  my  berth.  For  a  moment 
I  trembled.  When  I  was  fairly  awake  I  saw  that  it 
was  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  long,  white  nightgown.  He  had 
come  in  to  see  if  Taddie  was  all  right.  He  stopped 
to  talk  a  few  minutes. 

He  referred  to  Mr.  Duff  Green:  "The  old  man  is 
pretty  angry,  but  I  guess  he  will  get  over  it."  Then 
he  said,  "Good-night,  and  a  good  night's  rest,  Crook," 
and  he  went  back  to  his  stateroom. 

Our  return  trip  to  City  Point  was  in  the  Malvern, 
and  quiet  enough  in  comparison  with  the  approach 
to  Richmond.  When  we  reached  the  "Dutch  Gap 
Canal,"  which  was  one  of  the  engineering  features  of 
the  day,  the  President  wanted  to  go  through  it. 
Admiral  Porter  lowered  a  boat,  and  in  it  we  passed 

5  57 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

through  the  canal  to  the  James  below.  The  canal 
cuts  off  a  long  loop  of  the  river.  We  had  to  wait 
some  time  for  the  Malvern  to  go  around. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  had  returned  to  City  Point  with  a 
party  which  included  Senator  Sumner  and  Senator 
and  Mrs.  Harlan.  They  made  a  visit  to  Richmond, 
accompanied  by  Captain  Penrose,  while  the  Presi 
dent  remained  at  City  Point,  the  guest  of  Admiral 
Porter,  until  the  8th.  Then,  having  heard  of  the  in 
jury  to  Secretary  Seward  when  he  was  thrown  from 
his  carriage  in  a  runaway  accident,  he  felt  that  he 
must  go  back  to  Washington.  He  had  intended  to 
remain  until  Lee  surrendered. 

We  reached  home  Sunday  evening,  the  pth.  The 
President's  carriage  met  us  at  the  wharf.  There  Mr. 
Lincoln  parted  from  Captain  Penrose;  he  took  the 
captain  by  the  hand  and  thanked  him  for  the  man 
ner  in  which  he  had  performed  his  duty.  Then  he 
started  for  the  White  House. 

The  streets  were  alive  with  people,  all  very  much 
excited.  There  were  bonfires  everywhere.  We  were 
all  curious  to  know  what  had  happened.  Tad  was 
so  excited  he  couldn't  keep  still.  We  halted  the  car 
riage  and  asked  a  bystander, 

"What  has  happened?" 

He  looked  at  us  in  amazement,  not  recognizing 
Mr.  Lincoln. 

' '  Why,  where  have  you  been  ?   Lee  has  surrendered. ' ' 

There  is  one  point  which  is  not  understood,  I  think, 
about  the  President's  trip  to  City  Point  and  Rich- 

58 


THE    ENTRANCE    INTO    RICHMOND 

mond.  I  would  like  to  tell  here  what  my  experience 
has  made  me  believe.  The  expedition  has  been  spoken 
of  almost  as  if  it  were  a  pleasure  trip.  Some  one  says 
of  it,  "It  was  the  first  recreation  the  President  had 
known."  Of  course,  in  one  sense  this  was  true.  He 
did  gat  away  from  the  routine  of  office-work.  He 
had  pleasant  associations  with  General  Grant  and 
General  Sherman,  and  enjoyed  genial  talks  in  the 
open  over  the  camp-fire.  But  to  give  the  impression 
that  it  was  a  sort  of  holiday  excursion  is  a  mistake. 
It  was  a  matter  of  executive  duty,  and  a  very  trying 
and  saddening  duty  in  many  of  its  features.  The 
President's  suspense  during  the  days  when  he  knew 
the  battle  of  Petersburg  was  imminent,  his  agony 
when  the  thunder  of  the  cannon  told  him  that  men 
were  being  cut  down  like  grass,  his  sight  of  the  poor, 
torn  bodies  of  the  dead  and  dying  on  the  field  of 
Petersburg,  his  painful  sympathy  with  the  forlorn 
rebel  prisoners,  the  revelation  of  the  devastation  of 
a  noble  people  in  ruined  Richmond — these  things  may 
have  been  compensated  for  by  his  exultation  when 
he  first  knew  the  long  struggle  was  over.  But  I  think 
not.  These  things  wore  new  furrows  in  his  face. 
Mr.  Lincoln  never  looked  sadder  in  his  life  than  when 
he  walked  through  the  streets  of  Richmond  and 
knew  it  saved  to  the  Union  and  himself  victorious. 


IV 

A  NEW  PHASE  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION 

A  LTHOUGH  I  reported  early  at  the  White  House 
2\  on  the  morning  after  our  return  from  City 
Point,  I  found  the  President  already  at  his  desk.  He 
was  looking  over  his  mail,  but  as  I  came  in  he  looked 
up,  and  said,  pleasantly: 

"Good-morning,  Crook.     How  do  you  feel?" 

I  answered:  "First-rate,  Mr.  President.  How  are 
you?" 

"I  am  well,  but  rather  tired,"  he  said. 

Then  I  noticed  that  he  did,  indeed,  look  tired.  His 
worn  face  made  me  understand,  more  clearly  than  I 
had  done  before,  what  a  strain  the  experiences  at 
Petersburg  and  Richmond  had  been.  Now  that  the 
excitement  was  over,  the  reaction  allowed  it  to  be 
seen. 

I  was  on  duty  near  the  President  all  that  day.  We 
settled  back  into  the  usual  routine.  It  seemed  odd 
to  go  on  as  if  nothing  had  happened;  the  trip  had 
been  such  a  great  event.  It  was  a  particularly  busy 
day.  Correspondence  had  been  held  for  Mr.  Lincoln's 
attention  during  the  seventeen  days  of  absence; 
besides  that,  his  office  was  thronged  with  visitors. 
Some  of  them  had  come  to  congratulate  him  on  the 

60 


NEW   PHASE    OF    THE    ASSASSINATION 

successful  outcome  of  the  war;  others  had  come  to 
advise  him  what  course  to  pursue  toward  the  con 
quered  Confederacy;  still  others  wanted  appoint 
ments.  One  gentleman,  who  was  bold  enough  to  ask 
aloud  what  everybody  was  asking  privately,  said, 

"Mr.  President,  what  will  you  do  with  Jeff  Davis 
when  he  is  caught?" 

Mr.  Lincoln  sat  up  straight  and  crossed  his  legs, 
as  he  always  did  when  he  was  going  to  tell  a  story. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "that  reminds  me" — at  the 
familiar  words  every  one  settled  back  and  waited 
for  the  story — "that  reminds  me  of  an  incident 
which  occurred  in  a  little  town  in  Illinois  where  I 
once  practised  law.  One  morning  I  was  on  my  way 
to  the  office,  when  I  saw  a  boy  standing  on  the  street 
corner  crying.  I  felt  sorry  for  the  woebegone  little 
fellow.  So  I  stopped  and  questioned  him  as  to  the 
cause  of  his  grief.  He  looked  into  my  face,  the 
tears  running  down  his  cheeks,  and  said:  'Mister,  do 
you  see  that  coon?' — pointing  to  a  very  poor  speci 
men  of  the  coon  family  which  glared  at  us  from  the 
end  of  the  string.  'Well,  sir,  that  coon  has  given 
me  a  heap  of  trouble.  He  has  nearly  gnawed  the 
string  in  two — I  just  wish  he  would  finish  it.  Then 
I  could  go  home  and  say  he  had  got  away." 

Everybody  laughed.  They  all  knew  quite  well 
what  the  President  would  like  to  do  with  Jeff  Davis 
— when  Jeff  Davis  was  caught. 

Later  in  the  morning  a  great  crowd  came  march 
ing  into  the  White  House  grounds.  Every  man  was 
cheering  and  a  band  was  playing  patriotic  airs.  The 

61 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

workmen  at  the  Navy- Yard  had  started  the  pro 
cession,  and  by  the  time  it  had  reached  us  it  was 
over  two  thousand  strong.  Of  course  they  called  for 
the  President,  and  he  stepped  to  the  window  to 
see  his  guests.  When  the  cheering  had  subsided  he 
spoke  to  them  very  kindly  and  good-naturedly,  beg 
ging  that  they  would  not  ask  him  for  a  serious 
speech. 

"I  am  going  to  make  a  formal  address  this  even 
ing,"  he  said,  "and  if  I  dribble  it  out  to  you  now, 
my  speech  to-night  will  be  spoiled."  Then,  with  his 
humorous  smile,  he  spoke  to  the  band: 

"I  think  it  would  be  a  good  plan  for  you  to  play 
Dixie.  I  always  thought  that  it  was  the  most  beau 
tiful  of  our  songs.  I  have  submitted  the  question 
of  its  ownership  to  the  Attorney-General,  and  he  has 
given  it  as  his  legal  opinion  that  we  have  fairly  earned 
the  right  to  have  it  back."  As  the  opening  bars  of 
Dixie  burst  out,  Mr.  Lincoln  disappeared  from  the 
window.  The  crowd  went  off  in  high  good-humor, 
marching  to  the  infectious  rhythm  of  the  hard-won 
tune. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  about  six 
o'clock,  a  deputation  of  fifteen  men  called.  Mr. 
Lincoln  met  them  in  the  corridor  just  after  they  had 
entered  the  main  door.  They  were  presented  to  the 
President,  and  then  the  gentleman  who  had  intro 
duced  them  made  a  speech.  It  was  a  very  pretty 
speech,  full  of  loyal  sentiments  and  praise  for  the 
man  who  had  safely  guided  the  country  through  the 
great  crisis.  Mr.  Lincoln  listened  to  them  pleasantly. 

62 


NEW   PHASE    OF    THE   ASSASSINATION 

Then  a  picture  was  put  into  his  hands.  When  he  saw 
his  own  rugged  features  facing  him  from  an  elaborate 
silver  frame  a  smile  broadened  his  face. 

" Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "I  thank  you  for  this  token 
of  your  esteem.  You  did  your  best.  It  wasn't  your 
fault  that  the  frame  is  so  much  more  rare  than  the 
picture." 

On  the  evening  of  the  nth  the  President  made  the 
speech  which  he  had  promised  the  day  before.  Had 
we  only  known  it,  this  was  to  be  his  last  public  ut 
terance.  The  whole  city  was  brilliantly  illuminated 
that  night.  The  public  buildings  were  decorated, 
and,  from  the  Capitol  to  the  Treasury,  the  whole 
length  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue  bore  witness,  with 
flags  and  lights,  to  the  joy  everybody  felt  because  the 
war  was  over.  Streaming  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
which  was  the  one  great  thoroughfare  then,  the  only 
paved  street,  and  from  every  other  quarter  of  the 
city,  came  the  people.  In  spite  of  the  unpleasant 
drizzle  which  fell  the  whole  evening,  and  the  mud 
through  which  every  one  had  to  wade,  a  great  crowd 
cheered  Mr.  Lincoln  when  he  appeared  at  an  upper 
window.  From  another  window  Mrs.  Lincoln  bowed 
to  the  people  and  was  greeted  enthusiastically.  The 
President  immediately  began  his  speech,  which  had 
been  in  preparation  ever  since  his  return  from  City 
Point.  The  care  which  he  had  taken  to  express  him 
self  accurately  was  shown  from  the  fact  that  the 
whole  address  was  written  out.  Inside,  little  Tad  was 
running  around  the  room  while  "papa-day"  was 
speaking.  As  the  President  let  the  sheets  of  manu- 

63 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

script  fall,  Taddie  gathered  them  up  and  begged  his 
father  to  let  them  go  faster. 

The  President  spoke  with  reverence  of  the  cause 
for  thanksgiving  that  the  long  struggle  was  over. 
He  passed  rapidly  to  that  question  which  he  knew 
the  whole  nation  was  debating — the  future  policy 
toward  the  South.  In  discussing  his  already  much- 
debated  "Louisiana  Policy"  he  expressed  the  two 
great  principles  which  were  embodied  in  it:  the  mass 
of  the  Southern  people  should  be  restored  to  their 
citizenship  as  soon  as  it  was  evident  that  they  de 
sired  it;  punishment,  if  punishment  there  be,  should 
fall  upon  those  who  had  been  proved  to  be  chiefly 
instrumental  in  leading  the  South  into  rebellion. 
These  principles  were  reiterated  by  Senator  Harlan, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  be,  who  spoke  after 
the  President;  they  were  reiterated,  of  course,  by 
the  President's  desire.  During  President  Andrew 
Johnson's  long  struggle  with  a  bitter  Northern  Con 
gress,  I  have  often  recalled  the  simplicity  and  kindli 
ness  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  theory. 

During  the  next  three  days — as,  in  fact,  since  the 
fall  of  Richmond — Washington  was  a  little  delirious. 
Everybody  was  celebrating.  The  kind  of  celebration 
depended  on  the  kind  of  person.  It  was  merely  a 
question  of  whether  the  intoxication  was  mental  or 
physical.  Every  day  there  was  a  stream  of  callers 
who  came  to  congratulate  the  President,  to  tell  how 
loyal  they  had  been,  and  how  they  had  always  been 
sure  he  would  be  victorious.  There  were  serenades; 
there  were  deputations  of  leading  citizens;  on  the 

64 


NEW    PHASE    OF   THE    ASSASSINATION 

evening  of  the  i3th  there  was  another  illumination. 
The  city  became  disorderly  with  the  men  who  were 
celebrating  too  hilariously.  Those  about  the  Presi 
dent  lost  somewhat  of  the  feeling,  usually  present, 
that  his  life  was  not  safe.  It  did  not  seem  possible 
that,  now  that  the  war  was  over  and  the  government 
—glad  to  follow  General  Grant's  splendid  initiative- 
had  been  so  magnanimous  in  its  treatment  of  General 
Lee,  after  President  Lincoln  had  offered  himself  a 
target  for  Southern  bullets  in  the  streets  of  Richmond 
and  had  come  out  unscathed,  there  could  be  danger. 
For  my  part,  I  had  drawn  a  full  breath  of  relief  after 
we  got  out  of  Richmond,  and  had  forgotten  to  be 
anxious  since. 

Because  of  the  general  joyousness,  I  was  surprised 
when,  late  on  the  afternoon  of  the  i4th,  I  accompanied 
Mr.  Lincoln  on  a  hurried  visit  to  the  War  Depart 
ment,  I  found  that  the  President  was  more  depressed 
than  I  had  ever  seen  him  and  his  step  unusually  slow. 
Afterward  Mrs.  Lincoln  told  me  that  when  he  drove 
with  her  to  the  Soldiers'  Home  earlier  in  the  after 
noon  he  had  been  extremely  cheerful,  even  buoyant. 
She  said  that  he  had  talked  of  the  calm  future  that 
was  in  store  for  them,  of  the  ease  which  they  had 
never  known,  when,  his  term  over,  they  would  go  back 
to  their  home  in  Illinois.  He  longed,  a  little  wistfully, 
for  that  time  to  come,  with  its  promise  of  peace.  The 
depression  I  noticed  may  have  been  due  to  one  of  the 
sudden  changes  of  mood  to  which  I  have  been  told 
the  President  was  subject.  I  had  heard  of  the 
transitions  from  almost  wild  spirits  to  abject  melan- 

65 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

choly  which  marked  him.  I  had  never  seen  anything 
of  the  sort,  and  had  concluded  that  all  this  must 
have  belonged  to  his  earlier  days.  In  the  time  when 
I  knew  him  his  mood,  when  there  was  no  outside  sor 
row  to  disturb  him,  was  one  of  settled  calm.  I  won 
dered  at  him  that  day  and  felt  uneasy. 

In  crossing  over  to  the  War  Department  we  passed 
some  drunken  men.  Possibly  their  violence  sug 
gested  the  thought  to  the  President.  After  we  had 
passed  them,  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to  me, 

"Crook,  do  you  know,  I  believe  there  are  men  who 
want  to  take  my  life  ?"  Then,  after  a  pause,  he  said, 
half  to  himself,  "And  I  have  no  doubt  they  will 
do  it." 

The  conviction  with  which  he  spoke  dismayed  me. 
I  wanted  to  protest,  but  his  tone  had  been  so  calm 
and  sure  that  I  found  myself  saying,  instead,  "Why 
do  you  think  so,  Mr.  President?" 

"Other  men  have  been  assassinated,"  was  his 
reply,  still  in  that  manner  of  stating  something  to 
himself. 

All  I  could  say  was,  "I  hope  you  are  mistaken, 
Mr.  President." 

We  walked  a  few  paces  in  silence.  Then  he  said, 
in  a  more  ordinary  tone: 

' '  I  have  perfect  confidence  in  those  who  are  around 
me — in  every  one  of  you  men.  I  know  no  one  could 
do  it  and  escape  alive.  But  if  it  is  to  be  done,  it  is 
impossible  to  prevent  it." 

By  this  time  we  were  at  the  War  Department,  and 
he  went  in  to  his  conference  with  Secretary  Stan- 

66 


NEW    PHASE   OF   THE    ASSASSINATION 

ton.  It  was  shorter  than  usual  that  evening.  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  been  belated.  When  Mrs.  Lincoln  and 
he  came  home  from  their  drive  he  had  found  friends 
awaiting  him.  He  had  slipped  away  from  dinner, 
and  there  were  more  people  waiting  to  talk  to  him 
when  he  got  back.  He  came  out  of  the  Secretary's 
office  in  a  short  time.  Then  I  saw  that  every  trace  of 
the  depression,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  intense  seri 
ousness,  which  had  surprised  me  before  had  vanished. 
He  talked  to  me  as  usual.  He  said  that  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  he,  with  a  party,  were  going  to  the  theatre  to 
see  Our  American  Cousin. 

"It  has  been  advertised  that  we  will  be  there,"  he 
said,  "and  I  cannot  disappoint  the  people.  Other 
wise  I  would  not  go.  I  do  not  want  to  go." 

I  remember  particularly  that  he  said  this,  because 
it  surprised  me.  The  President's  love  for  the  theatre 
was  well  known.  He  went  often  when  it  was  an 
nounced  that  he  would  be  there;  but  more  often  he 
would  slip  away,  alone  or  with  Tad,  get  into  the 
theatre,  unobserved  if  he  could,  watch  the  play  from 
the  back  of  the  house  for  a  short  time,  and  then  go 
back  to  his  work.  Mr.  Buckingham,  the  doorkeeper 
of  Ford's  Theatre,  used  to  say  that  he  went  in  just 
to  "take  a  laugh."  So  it  seemed  unusual  to  hear 
him  say  he  did  not  want  to  go.  When  we  had  reached 
the  White  House  and  he  had  climbed  the  steps  he 
turned  and  stood  there  a  moment  before  he  went  in. 
Then  he  said, 

"Good-bye,  Crook." 

It  startled  me.  As  far  as  I  remember  he  had  never 

67 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

said  anything  but  "Good-night,  Crook,"  before.  Of 
course,  it  is  possible  that  I  may  be  mistaken.  In 
looking  back,  every  word  that  he  said  has  significance. 
But  I  remember  distinctly  the  shock  of  surprise  and 
the  impression,  at  the  time,  that  he  had  never  said 
it  before. 

By  this  time  I  felt  queer  and  sad.  I  hated  to 
leave  him.  But  he  had  gone  in,  so  I  turned  away  and 
started  on  my  walk  home.  I  lived  in  a  little  house 
on  "Rodbird's  Hill."  It  was  a  long  distance  from 
the  White  House — it  would  be  about  on  First  Street 
now,  in  the  middle  of  the  block  between  L  and  M 
Streets.  The  whole  tract  from  there  to  North 
Capitol  Street  belonged  either  to  my  father-in-law  or 
to  his  family.  He  was  an  old,  retired  sea-captain 
named  Rodbird;  he  had  the  hull  of  his  last  sailing- 
vessel  set  up  in  his  front -yard. 

The  feeling  of  sadness  with  which  I  left  the  President 
lasted  a  long  time,  but  wore  off  after  a  while — I  was 
young  and  healthy,  I  was  going  home  to  my  wife  and 
baby,  and,  the  man  who  followed  me  on  duty  having 
been  late  for  some  reason,  it  was  long  past  my  usual 
dinner-time,  and  I  was  hungry.  By  the  time  I  had 
had  my  dinner  I  was  sleepy,  so  I  went  to  bed  early. 
I  did  not  hear  until  early  in  the  morning  that  the 
President  had  been  shot.  It  seems  incredible  now, 
but  it  was  so. 

My  first  thought  was,  If  I  had  been  on  duty  at 
the  theatre,  I  would  be  dead  now.  My  next  was  to 
wonder  whether  Parker,  who  had  gone  to  the  theatre 
with  the  President,  was  dead.  Then  I  remembered 

68 


NEW    PHASE    OF  THE    ASSASSINATION 

what  the  President  had  said  the  evening  before. 
Then  I  went  to  the  house  on  Tenth  Street  where  they 
had  taken  him. 

They  would  not  let  me  in.  The  little  room  where 
he  lay  was  crowded  with  the  men  who  had  been  as 
sociated  with  the  President  during  the  war.  They 
were  gathered  around  the  bed  watching,  while,  long 
after  the  great  spirit  was  quenched,  life,  little  by  lit 
tle,  loosened  its  hold  on  the  long,  gaunt  body.  Among 
them,  I  knew,  were  men  who  had  contended  with  him 
during  his  life  or  who  had  laughed  at  him.  Charles 
Sumner  stood  at  the  very  head  of  the  bed.  I  know 
that  it  was  to  him  that  Robert  Lincoln,  who  was  only 
a  boy  for  all  his  shoulder-straps,  turned  in  the  long 
strain  of  watching.  And  on  Charles  Sumner's  shoul 
der  the  son  sobbed  out  his  grief.  But  the  room  was 
full,  and  they  would  not  let  me  in. 

After  the  President  had  died  they  took  him  back 
to  the  White  House.  It  was  to  the  guest-room,  with 
its  old  four-posted  bed,  that  they  carried  him.  I  was 
in  the  room  while  the  men  prepared  his  body  to  be 
seen  by  his  people  when  they  came  to  take  their  leave. 
It  was  hard  for  me  to  be  there.  It  seemed  fitting 
that  the  body  should  be  there,  where  he  had  never 
been  in  life.  I  am  glad  that  his  own  room  could  be 
left  to  the  memory  of  his  living  presence. 

The  days  during  which  the  President  lay  in  state 
before  they  took  him  away  for  his  long  progress  over 
the  country  he  had  saved  were  even  more  distress 
ing  than  grief  would  have  made  them.  Mrs.  Lincoln 
was  almost  frantic  with  suffering.  Women  spirit- 

69 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

ualists  in  some  way  gained  access  to  her.  They 
poured  into  her  ears  pretended  messages  from  her 
dead  husband.  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  so  weakened  that 
she  had  not  force  enough  to  resist  the  cruel  cheat. 
These  women  nearly  crazed  her.  Mr.  Robert  Lincoln, 
who  had  to  take  his  place  now  at  the  head  of  the 
family,  finally  ordered  them  out  of  the  house. 

After  the  President's  remains  were  taken  from  the 
White  House  the  family  began  preparations  for 
leaving,  but  they  were  delayed  a  month  by  Mrs.  Lin 
coln's  illness.  The  shock  of  her  husband's  death  had 
brought  about  a  nervous  disorder.  Her  physician, 
Doctor  Stone,  refused  to  allow  her  to  be  moved  until 
she  was  somewhat  restored.  During  the  whole  of 
the  time  while  she  was  shut  up  in  her  room  Mrs. 
Gideon  Welles,  the  wife  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
was  in  almost  daily  attendance  upon  her.  Mrs. 
Welles  was  Mrs.  Lincoln's  friend,  of  all  the  women  in 
official  position,  and  she  did  much  with  her  kindly 
ministrations  to  restore  the  President's  widow  to  her 
normal  condition.  It  was  not  until  the  23d  of  May, 
at  six  o'clock,  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  finally  left  for 
Chicago. 

Capt.  Robert  Lincoln  accompanied  her,  and  a  color 
ed  woman,  a  seamstress,  in  whom  she  had  great  con 
fidence,  went  with  the  party  to  act  as  Mrs.  Lincoln's 
maid.  They  asked  me  to  go  with  them  to  do  what 
I  could  to  help.  But  no  one  could  do  much  for  Mrs. 
Lincoln.  During  most  of  the  fifty-four  hours  that 
we  were  on  the  way  she  was  in  a  daze;  it  seemed 
almost  a  stupor.  She  hardly  spoke.  No  one  could 

70 


NEW   PHASE    OF   THE    ASSASSINATION 

get  near  enough  to  her  grief  to  comfort  her.  But  I 
could  be  of  some  use  to  Taddie.  Being  a  child,  he 
had  been  able  to  cry  away  some  of  his  grief,  and  he 
could  be  distracted  with  the  sights  out  of  the  car- 
window.  There  was  an  observation-car  at  the  end 
of  our  coach.  Taddie  and  I  spent  a  good  deal  of 
time  there,  looking  at  the  scenes  flying  past.  He 
began  to  ask  questions. 

It  had  been  expected  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  would  go 
back  to  her  old  home  in  Illinois.  But  she  did  not 
seem  to  be  able  to  make  up  her  mind  to  go  there. 
She  remained  for  some  time  in  Chicago  at  the  old 
Palmer  House. 

I  went  to  a  friend  who  had  gone  from  Washington 
to  Chicago  to  live,  and  remained  with  him  for  the 
week  I  was  in  the  city.  I  went  to  the  hotel  every 
day.  Mrs.  Lincoln  I  rarely  saw.  Taddie  I  took  out 
for  a  walk  almost  every  day  and  tried  to  interest  him 
in  the  sights  we  saw.  But  he  was  a  sad  little  fellow, 
and  mourned  for  his  father. 

At  last  I  went  back  to  Washington  and  to  the 
White  House.  President  Johnson  had  established 
his  offices  there  when  I  got  back. 

Now  that  I  have  told  the  story  of  my  three  months' 
association  with  Abraham  Lincoln,  there  are  two 
things  of  which  I  feel  that  I  must  speak.  The  first 
question  relates  to  the  circumstances  of  the  assassina 
tion  of  President  Lincoln.  It  has  never  been  made 
public  before. 

I  have  often  wondered  why  the  negligence  of  the 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

guard  who  accompanied  the  President  to  the  theatre 
on  the  night  of  the  i4th  has  never  been  divulged.  So 
far  as  I  know,  it  was  not  even  investigated  by  the 
police  department.  Yet,  had  he  done  his  duty,  I 
believe  President  Lincoln  would  not  have  been  mur 
dered  by  Booth.  The  man  was  John  Parker.  He 
was  a  native  of  the  District,  and  had  volunteered, 
as  I  believe  each  of  the  other  guards  had  done,  in 
response  to  the  President's  first  call  for  troops  from 
the  District.  He  is  dead  now,  and,  as  far  as  I  am 
able  to  discover,  all  of  his  family.  So  it  is  no  unkind- 
ness  to  speak  of  the  costly  mistake  he  made. 

It  was  the  custom  for  the  guard  who  accompanied 
the  President  to  the  theatre  to  remain  in  the  lit 
tle  passageway  outside  the  box — that  passageway 
through  which  Booth  entered.  Mr.  Buckingham,  who 
was  the  doorkeeper  at  Ford's  Theatre,  remembers 
that  a  chair  was  placed  there  for  the  guard  on  the 
evening  of  the  i4th.  Whether  Parker  occupied  it  at 
all  I  do  not  know — Mr.  Buckingham  is  of  the  im 
pression  that  he  did.  If  he  did,  he  left  it  almost 
immediately;  for  he  confessed  to  me  the  next  day 
that  he  went  to  a  seat  at  the  front  of  the  first  gallery, 
so  that  he  could  see  the  play.  The  door  of  the  Presi 
dent's  box  was  shut;  probably  Mr.  Lincoln  never 
knew  that  the  guard  had  left  his  post. 

Mr.  Buckingham  tells  that  Booth  was  in  and  out 
of  the  house  five  times  before  he  finally  shot  the 
President.  Each  time  he  looked  about  the  theatre 
in  a  restless,  excited  manner.  I  think  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  he  was  studying  the  scene  of  his  in- 

72 


NEW   PHASE    OF   THE    ASSASSINATION 

tended  crime,  and  that  he  observed  that  Parker, 
whom  he  must  have  been  watching,  was  not  at  his 
post.  To  me  it  is  very  probable  that  the  fact  that 
there  was  no  one  on  guard  may  have  determined  the 
time  of  his  attack.  Booth  had  found  it  necessary  to 
stimulate  himself  with  whiskey  in  order  to  reach  the 
proper  pitch  of  fanaticism.  Had  he  found  a  man  at 
the  door  of  the  President's  box  armed  with  a  Colt's 
revolver,  his  alcohol  courage  might  have  evaporated. 
However  that  may  be,  Parker's  absence  had  much 
to  do  with  the  success  of  Booth's  purpose.  The  as 
sassin  was  armed  with  a  dagger  and  a  pistol.  The 
story  used  to  be  that  the  dagger  was  intended  for 
General  Grant  when  the  President  had  been  de 
spatched.  That  is  absurd.  While  it  had  been  an 
nounced  that  General  and  Mrs.  Grant  would  be  in  the 
box,  Booth,  during  one  of  his  five  visits  of  inspection, 
had  certainly  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  that 
the  General  was  absent.  The  dagger,  which  was 
noiseless,  was  intended  for  any  one  who  might  inter 
cept  him  before  he  could  fire.  The  pistol,  which  was 
noisy  and  would  arouse  pursuit,  was  for  the  Presi 
dent.  As  it  happened,  since  the  attack  was  a  com 
plete  surprise,  Major  Rathbone,  who,  the  President 
having  been  shot,  attempted  to  prevent  Booth's  es 
cape,  received  the  dagger  in  his  arm. 

Had  Parker  been  at  his  post  at  the  back  of  the  box 
—Booth  still  being  determined  to  make  the  attempt 
that  night — he  would  have  been  stabbed,  probably 
killed.     The  noise  of  the  struggle — Parker  could  sure 
ly  have  managed  to  make  some  outcry — would  have 
6  73 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

given  the  alarm.  Major  Rathbone  was  a  brave  man, 
and  the  President  was  a  brave  man  and  of  enormous 
muscular  strength.  It  would  have  been  an  easy 
thing  for  the  two  men  to  have  disarmed  Booth,  who 
was  not  a  man  of  great  physical  strength.  It  was  the 
suddenness  of  his  attack  on  the  President  that  made 
it  so  devilishly  successful.  It  makes  me  feel  rather 
bitter  when  I  remember  that  the  President  had  said, 
just  a  few  hours  before,  that  he  knew  he  could  trust 
all  his  guards.  And  then  to  think  that  in  that  one 
moment  of  test  one  of  us  should  have  utterly  failed 
him!  Parker  knew  that  he  had  failed  in  duty.  He 
looked  like  a  convicted  criminal  the  next  day.  He 
was  never  the  same  man  afterward. 

The  other  fact  that  I  think  people  should  know 
has  been  stated  before  in  the  President's  own  words: 
President  Lincoln  believed  that  it  was  probable  he 
would  be  assassinated. 

The  conversation  that  I  had  with  him  on  the  i4th 
was  not  the  only  one  we  had  on  that  same  subject. 
Any  one  can  see  how  natural  it  was  that  the  matter 
should  have  come  up  between  us — my  very  presence 
beside  him  was  a  reminder  that  there  was  danger  of 
assassination.  In  his  general  kindliness  he  wanted 
to  talk  about  the  thing  that  constituted  my  own 
particular  occupation.  He  often  spoke  of  the  pos 
sibility  of  an  attempt  being  made  on  his  life.  With 
the  exception  of  that  last  time,  however,  he  never 
treated  it  very  seriously.  He  merely  expressed  the 
general  idea  that,  I  afterward  learned,  he  had  ex 
pressed  to  Marshal  Lamon  and  other  men :  if  any  one 

74 


NEW    PHASE    OF    THE   ASSASSINATION 

was  willing  to  give  his  own  life  in  the  attempt  to 
murder  the  President,  it  would  be  impossible  to  pre 
vent  him. 

On  that  last  evening  he  went  further.  He  said 
with  conviction  that  he  believed  that  the  men  who 
wanted  to  take  his  life  would  do  it.  As  far  as  I  know, 
I  am  the  only  person  to  whom  President  Lincoln 
made  such  a  statement.  He  may  possibly  have 
spoken  about  it  to  the  other  guards,  but  I  never  heard 
of  it,  and  I  am  sure  that  had  he  done  so  I  would  have 
known  it. 

More  than  this,  I  believe  that  he  had  some  vague 
sort  of  a  warning  that  the  attempt  would  be  made 
on  the  night  of  the  i4th.  I  know  that  this  is  an  ex 
traordinary  statement  to  make,  and  that  it  is  late  in 
the  day  to  make  it.  I  have  been  waiting  for  just 
the  proper  opportunity  to  say  this  thing;  I  did  not 
care  to  talk  idly  about  it.  I  would  like  to  give  my 
reasons  for  feeling  as  I  do.  The  chain  of  circum 
stances  is  at  least  an  interesting  thing  to  consider. 

It  is  a  matter  of  record  that  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 4th,  at  a  cabinet  meeting,  the  President  spoke  of 
the  recurrence  the  night  before  of  a  dream  which,  he 
said,  had  always  forerun  something  of  moment  in  his 
life.  In  the  dream  a  ship  under  full  sail  bore  down 
upon  him.  At  the  time  he  spoke  of  it  he  felt  that 
some  good  fortune  was  on  its  way  to  him.  He  was 
serene,  even  joyous,  over  it.  Later  in  the  day,  while 
he  was  driving  with  his  wife,  his  mind  still  seemed 
to  be  dwelling  on  the  question  of  the  future.  It  was 
their  future  together  of  which  he  spoke.  He  was  al- 

75 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

most  impatient  that  his  term  should  be  over.  He 
seemed  eager  for  rest  and  peace.  When  I  accom 
panied  him  to  the  War  Department,  he  had  become 
depressed  and  spoke  of  his  belief  that  he  would  be 
assassinated.  When  we  returned  to  the  White  House, 
he  said  that  he  did  not  want  to  go  to  the  theatre  that 
evening,  but  that  he  must  go  so  as  not  to  disappoint 
the  people.  In  connection  with  this  it  is  to  be  re 
membered  that  he  was  extremely  fond  of  the  thea 
tre,  and  that  the  bill  that  evening,  Our  American 
Cousin,  was  a  very  popular  one.  When  he  was  about 
to  enter  the  White  House  he  said  "Good-bye,"  as  I 
never  remember  to  have  heard  him  say  before  when 
I  was  leaving  for  the  night. 

These  things  have  a  curious  interest.  President 
Lincoln  was  a  man  of  entire  sanity.  But  no  one  has 
ever  sounded  the  spring  of  spiritual  insight  from 
which  his  nature  was  fed.  To  me  it  all  means  that 
he  had,  with  his  waking  on  that  day,  a  strong  pre 
science  of  coming  change.  As  the  day  wore  on  the 
feeling  darkened  into  an  impression  of  coming  evil. 
The  suggestion  of  the  crude  violence  we  witnessed 
on  the  street  pointed  to  the  direction  from  which 
that  evil  should  come.  He  was  human;  he  shrank 
from  it.  But  he  was  characterized  by  what  some 
men  call  fatalism;  others,  devotion  to  duty;  still 
others,  religious  faith.  Therefore  he  went  open-eyed 
to  the  place  where  he  met,  at  last,  the  blind  fanatic. 
And  in  that  meeting  the  President,  who  had  dealt 
out  justice  with  a  tender  heart,  who  had  groaned  in 
spirit  over  fallen  Richmond,  fell. 

76 


NEW   PHASE    OF   THE    ASSASSINATION 

More  and  more  persons  who  have  heard  that  I  was 
with  Mr.  Lincoln  come  to  me  asking, 

"What  was  he  like?" 

These  last  years,  when,  at  a  Lincoln  birthday  cele 
bration  or  some  other  memorial  gathering,  they  ask 
for  a  few  words  from  the  man  who  used  to  be  Abra 
ham  Lincoln's  guard,  the  younger  people  look  at  me 
as  if  I  were  some  strange  spectacle— a  man  who  lived 
by  Lincoln's  side.  It  has  made  me  feel  as  if  the  time 
had  come  when  I  ought  to  tell  the  world  the  little 
that  I  know  about  him.  Soon  there  will  be  nothing 
of  him  but  the  things  that  have  been  written. 

Yet,  when  I  try  to  say  what  sort  of  a  man  he 
seemed  to  me,  I  fail.  I  have  no  words.  All  I  can  do 
is  to  give  little  snatches  of  reminiscences — I  cannot 
picture  the  man.  I  can  say: 

He  is  the  only  man  I  ever  knew  the  foundation  of 
whose  spirit  was  love.  That  love  made  him  suffer. 
I  saw  him  look  at  the  ragged,  hungry  prisoners  at 
City  Point,  I  saw  him  ride  over  the  battle-fields  at 
Petersburg,  the  man  with  the  hole  in  his  forehead 
and  the  man  with  both  arms  shot  away  lying,  accus 
ing,  before  his  eyes.  I  saw  him  enter  into  Richmond, 
walking  between  lanes  of  silent  men  and  women  who 
had  lost  their  battle.  I  remember  his  face.  .  .  .  And 
yet  my  memory  of  him  is  not  of  an  unhappy  man. 
I  hear  so  much  to-day  about  the  President's  melan 
choly.  It  is  true  no  man  could  suffer  more.  But 
he  was  very  easily  amused.  I  have  never  seen  a 
man  who  enjoyed  more  anything  pleasant  or  funny 
that  came  his  way.  I  think  the  balance  between  pain 

77 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

and  pleasure  was  fairly  struck,  and  in  the  last  months 
when  I  knew  him  he  was  in  love  with  life  because  he 
found  it  possible  to  do  so  much.  ...  I  never  saw  evi 
dence  of  faltering.  I  do  not  believe  any  one  ever  did. 
From  the  moment  he,  who  was  all  pity,  pledged  him 
self  to  war,  he  kept  straight  on. 

I  can  follow  Secretary  John  Hay  and  say,  He  was 
the  greatest  man  I  have  ever  known — or  shall  ever 
know. 

That  ought  to  be  enough  to  say,  and  yet — nothing 
so  merely  of  words  seems  to  express  him.  Something 
that  he  did  tells  so  much  more. 

I  remember  one  afternoon,  not  long  before  the 
President  was  shot,  we  were  on  our  way  to  the  War 
Department,  when  we  passed  a  ragged,  dirty  man  in 
army  clothes  lounging  just  outside  the  White  House 
enclosure.  He  had  evidently  been  waiting  to  see  the 
President,  for  he  jumped  up  and  went  toward  him 
with  his  story.  He  had  been  wounded,  was  just  out 
of  the  hospital — he  looked  forlorn  enough.  There  was 
something  he  wanted  the  President  to  do;  he  had 
papers  with  him.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  a  hurry,  but  he 
put  out  his  hands  for  the  papers.  Then  he  sat  down 
on  the  curbstone,  the  man  beside  him,  and  examined 
them.  When  he  had  satisfied  himself  about  the  mat 
ter,  he  smiled  at  the  anxious  fellow  reassuringly  and 
told  him  to  come  back  the  next  day;  then  he  would 
arrange  the  matter  for  him.  A  thing  like  that  says 
more  than  any  man  could  express.  If  I  could  only 
make  people  see  him  as  I  did — see  how  simple  he  was 
with  every  one;  how  he  could  talk  with  a  child  so 

78 


NEW   PHASE    OF    THE   ASSASSINATION 

that  the  child  could  understand  and  smile  up  at  him; 
how  you  would  never  know,  from  his  manner  to  the 
plainest  or  poorest  or  meanest,  that  there  was  the 
least  difference  between  that  man  and  himself;  how, 
from  that  man  to  the  greatest,  and  all  degrees  be 
tween,  the  President  could  meet  every  man  square 
on  the  plane  where  he  stood  and  speak  to  him,  man 
to  man,  from  that  plane— if  I  could  do  that,  I  would 
feel  that  I  had  told  something  of  what  he  was.  For 
no  one  to  whom  he  spoke  with  his  perfect  simplicity 
ever  presumed  to  answer  him  familiarly,  and  I  never 
saw  him  stand  beside  any  man — and  I  saw  him  with 
the  greatest  men  of  the  day — that  I  did  not  feel  there 
again  President  Lincoln  was  supreme.  If  I  had  only 
words  to  tell  what  he  seemed  to  me! 


V 

ANDREW  JOHNSON    IN    THE   WHITE    HOUSE 

WHEN  I  left  Washington  to  accompany  Mrs.  Lin 
coln  and  Tad  on  their  journey  back  to  Illinois, 
the  new  President  was  occupying  temporary  offices 
in  the  west  front  of  the  Treasury  Building.  On  my 
return,  I  found  that  he  had  moved  into  the  White 
House.  He  did  not,  however,  take  Mr.  Lincoln's  old 
office  for  his  own  use.  Because  of  the  larger  office 
force,  a  change  in  the  arrangement  was  necessary,  and 
Mr.  Lincoln's  room  was  used  by  clerks.  The  Presi 
dent  had  his  desk  in  the  former  anteroom,  which  had 
been  enlarged  by  taking  away  the  partition  used  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  to  give  him  private  access  to  the  library. 
Mr.  Johnson's  secretaries  worked  in  the  corner  room 
which  we  had  become  accustomed  to  associate  with 
Mr.  Nicolay  and  Mr.  Hay. 

I  must  admit  that  it  was  a  relief  to  me  not  to  see 
Mr.  Johnson  in  the  familiar  corner  of  the  office  from 
which  for  so  many  days  Mr.  Lincoln's  deep  eyes  had 
smiled  a  kindly  good-morning.  The  new  President 
was  different  from  the  dead  President,  whom  we 
missed  every  day.  Even  in  his  appearance  he  was 
as  great  a  contrast  to  Mr.  Lincoln  as  was  possible 
where  two  men  are  of  the  same  country,  the  same 

80 


JOHNSON    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

period,  and  of  somewhat  the  same  class.  He  was 
short,  while  Mr.  Lincoln  was  remarkably  tall;  he  was 
burly,  while  Mr.  Lincoln  was  gaunt.  With  his  black 
hair  and  eyes  and  Indian-like  swarthiness,  he  had  an 
Indian-like  impassiveness  of  expression.  There  were 
none  of  the  lines  in  his  face  which,  with  Mr.  Lincoln, 
showed  just  how  many  times  he  had  laughed  and  how 
many  times  he  had  grieved.  Instead  of  these,  there 
were  two  lines  of  decision  drawn  from  the  corners  of 
his  mouth,  and  two  from  his  nose.  A  strong  nose  and 
a  square  chin  jutted  toward  each  other  from  obsti 
nate  angles.  Very  few  persons  got  beyond  these 
things,  and  saw  that  he  had  a  cleft  in  his  chin.  I 
know  I  did  not  for  a  long  time ;  I  imagine  the  women 
and  children  were  quicker. 

Even  at  that  time  Mr.  Johnson  was  an  unpopular 
man,  and  I  shared  in  the  common  prejudice  against 
him.  Even  before  that  April  day  when,  in  gloomy 
haste,  he  had  taken  the  oath  of  office,  circumstances 
determined  that  his  position  would  be  a  difficult  one. 
He  had  been  thrust  into  responsibilities  and  honors 
to  which  no  man  had  dreamed  of  his  succeeding;  his 
nomination  to  the  Vice  -  Presidency  had  been  a  po 
litical  accident.  He  was  from  the  South,  and  had 
profited  by  the  crime  of  a  Southerner — a  crime  which 
had  destroyed  the  one  who,  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
was  the  best-loved  man  in  the  country.  His  origin 
and  early  conditions  had  been  sordid,  and  of  this 
sordidness  he  was  entirely  unashamed.  Neither  thing 
helped  his  position  with  a  narrow  circle  of  New  Eng 
land  theorists  who,  with  their  inheritance  of  inflated 

81 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

ideals  and  incomplete  sympathies,  had  come  to  re 
place,  by  way  of  aristocracy,  the  social  traditions  of 
colonial  times. 

In  addition,  there  were  certain  drawbacks  of  a  more 
personal  nature.  The  unfortunate  circumstances  of 
his  inauguration  as  Vice-President  were  fresh  in  peo 
ple's  minds.  It  had  been  currently  reported  that  on 
that  occasion  Mr.  Johnson  was  intoxicated.  He  had 
certainly  acted  in  a  manner  to  offend  the  men  who 
were  about  him  and  to  lower  the  Vice-President  be 
fore  his  subordinates.  Since  then  the  matter  has 
been  explained.  We  all  know  now  that  he  was  then 
recovering  from  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  -  fever. 
He  was  not  in  a  condition  to  go  through  even  the 
simple  ceremonial  which  marked  Mr.  Lincoln's  second 
inauguration.  In  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  per 
form  his  part  in  the  exercises  of  the  day,  he  had 
taken  a  stimulant.  The  effect  of  alcohol  upon  typhoid 
convalescents  is  well  known,  the  smallest  amount 
being  intoxicating.  This  incident  brought  about  a 
reputation  for  drunkenness  which  clung  to  the  Presi 
dent  throughout  his  administration.  The  slander  was 
used  by  Mr.  Johnson's  enemies  for  their  own  purposes. 
To  offset  these  disadvantages,  there  was  nothing  in 
Mr.  Johnson's  self-contained,  almost  sombre  manner 
to  take  possession  of  the  hearts  of  those  about  him, 
as  did  the  man  with  whom  we  were  forced  to  com 
pare  him. 

But  I  had  not  been  many  days  about  the  White 
House  before  I  began  to  change  my  opinion  of  Andrew 
Johnson.  My  prejudices  against  him  began  to  die 

82 


ANDREW     JOHNSON 


JOHNSON    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

away.  I  grew  to  follow  his  directions  with  alacrity 
and  to  welcome  his  rare  and  laconic  remarks.  I  was 
not  alone  in  this  change :  all  of  the  employees  began 
to  feel  his  influence.  He  was  a  man  who,  thro 
association,  swayed  insensibly  the  men  wl..o  v. 
with  him.  I  very  soon  began  to  realize  that  tl  2  i 
ports  of  his  drinking  to  excess  were,  like  many  otl.^r 
slanders,  without  foundation.  I  will  state  here  that 
during  the  years  he  was  in  the  White  House  there 
never  was  any  foundation  for  it.  Except  in  the  time 
of  his  absence  in  the  autumn  of  1865,  I  saw  him 
probably  every  day,  from  the  time  of  my  return  until 
he  left,  and  I  never  once  saw  him  under  the  influence 
of  liquor.  With  regard  to  his  life  before  and  after 
this  period,  of  course  I  can  offer  no  direct  testimony; 
but  I  have  heard  the  indignant  denials  of  the  men 
who  were  associated  with  him.  For  my  part,  the 
record  of  his  energetic  and  forceful  life  would  be  proof 
enough  for  me,  even  if  I  did  not  know  from  my  own 
observation.  No  man  whose  wits  were  fuddled  with 
alcohol  could  have  done  what  he  did  in  Tennessee 
and  Washington.  He  drank,  as  did  virtually  most 
public  men  of  the  time,  a  notable  exception  being  Mr. 
Lincoln.  The  White  House  cellars  were  well  stocked 
with  wine  and  whiskies,  which  he  offered  to  his  guests 
at  dinner  or  luncheon,  but  in  my  experience  he  never 
drank  to  excess. 

I  learned  another  thing,  too,  and  that  was  that  the 
President  was  destined  to  conflict.  He  was  a  man 
who  found  it  impossible  to  conciliate  or  temporize. 
As  uncompromising  as  the  terms  of  his  speech,  as 

83 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

straight  as  the  challenge  of  his  eye,  Andrew  Johnson's 
opinions  and  policies  did  not  change.  His  goal  being 
ahead  of  him,  and  seen  in  clear  light,  he  neither  saw 
nor  considered  possible  an  indirect  path  to  that  goal. 
It  was  inevitable,  when  other  men  were  going  in 
opposite  ways,  that  there  should  be  collision. 

There  was  nothing  of  this  conflict  apparent  at  first, 
however;  for  there  were  practical  details  to  absorb 
him.  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  hard-working  and  business 
like  man.  Except  for  an  hour  or  so  in  the  afternoon 
and  at  meal-times,  he  rarely  left  his  desk  until  mid 
night.  He  immediately  went  to  work  to  organize  an 
executive  office,  which  had  never  been  done  before. 
This  was  imperative,  because  of  the  mass  of  details 
caused  by  the  end  of  the  war.  The  numerous  ex 
ceptions  to  the  Amnesty  Proclamation,  embracing  the 
cases  of  the  men  who  had  been  the  leaders  of  the 
Confederacy  and  all  men  possessing  $20,000  or  more 
of  property,  made  it  necessary  to  grant  a  great  many 
pardons.  At  the  beginning  of  his  administration  the 
President  was  prejudiced  against  the  natural  leaders, 
who,  he  considered,  had  led  the  South  astray.  The 
$20,000  exception  to  the  first  Amnesty  Proclamation 
was  his  own  idea,  introduced  because  of  his  prejudice 
against  aristocrats  and  in  favor  of  the  "plain  people." 
It  was  generally  expected  that  he  would  prove  severe 
in  his  attitude  toward  the  excepted  classes;  but  he 
merely  wished  to  make  their  probation  long  enough 
to  enforce  the  lesson  of  loyalty  upon  them.  There 
fore  the  granting  of  pardons  became  part  of  the 
routine  of  office.  From  April  15,  1865,  to  June  15, 

84 


JOHNSON    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

1866, 1  have  been  told  that  1963  pardons  were  granted. 
It  is  easy  to  see  how  much  clerical  work  this  matter 
alone  entailed. 

Mr.  Johnson  employed  six  secretaries,  instead  of 
two,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  had  done.  They  were  classified 
as  one  secretary  and  one  assistant  secretary,  with  the 
others  detailed  from  the  War  Department.  At  the 
beginning,  William  H.  Browning  was  the  secretary, 
and  Robert  Morrow  the  assistant.  Mr.  Browning  did 
not  serve  long,  however.  When  he  died,  the  Presi 
dent's  son,  Colonel  Robert  Johnson,  took  his  place. 
For  a  time  Mr.  Cooper,  representative-elect  from  Ten 
nessee,  while  waiting  the  decision  of  Congress  relative 
to  the  readmission  of  Tennessee,  served  as  secretary. 
Colonel  Long,  Colonel  Wright  Reeves,  Major  William 
C.  Moore,  and  General  Mussey  were  detailed  from  the 
War  Department.  For  a  long  time  Colonel  Long  had 
charge  of  the  business  of  pardons. 

Besides  the  private  secretaries,  Mr.  Johnson  had 
six  clerks  detailed  from  the  departments  to  assist  in 
the  work  of  the  office.  These,  as  I  said,  were  sta 
tioned  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  old  room.  For  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  the  White  House,  records  of  the  office 
were  kept.  There  had  never  been  anything  before 
but  lists  of  appointments.  The  books  would  repay 
any  one's  study.  A  small  one  which  I  have  chanced 
to  retain  contains  the  first  records  of  the  case  against 
the  conspirators  implicated  with  Booth  in  the  murder 
of  President  Lincoln.  In  it  Mr.  Johnson  submitted 
this  question  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Should  the 
trial  be  delegated  to  a  military  tribunal  ?  There  are 

85 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

references  to  manuscripts  in  the  case.  Everything 
shows  a  painstaking  desire  to  understand  thoroughly 
the  details.  There  is  evidence,  too,  of  a  wish  to  con 
sider  the  authority  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  One 
amusing  entry  in  the  book  is  the  plea  of  an  Episco 
palian  minister  who,  too  evidently  disapproving,  de 
sired  to  be  released  from  his  obligation  to  pray  for  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Johnson  not  only  kept  this  official  account  of 
his  actions,  but  preserved  every  letter  of  his  corre 
spondence.  He  had  scrap-books  of  newspaper  clip 
pings  compiled.  After  a  time  these  were  my  special 
charge.  All  this  material — records,  correspondence, 
scrap-books — is  now  in  the  Manuscript  Division  of 
the  Congressional  Library  at  Washington.  It  is  pos 
sible  to  see  there,  side  by  side  with  receipts  for  hats 
and  shoes,  and  pink  leaflets  containing  the  Sunday- 
school  lessons  of  small  grandchildren,  the  gravest 
political  documents. 

It  was  August,  and  the  routine  of  the  office  was  fair 
ly  under  way,  when  the  White  House  finally  became 
the  home  of  all  the  President's  family.  There  were 
Mrs.  Johnson;  Colonel  Robert  Johnson,  the  presi 
dent's  second  son ;  Senator  Patterson  and  his  wife,  who 
was  the  eldest  daughter,  with  her  children,  Belle  and 
Andrew;  Mrs.  Stover,  a  widow,  with  her  three  chil 
dren,  Lillie,  Sarah,  and  Andrew.  There  was  also  a 
young  son  of  the  President,  Andrew,  who  was  some 
times  called  Frank,  to  lessen  the  confusion  arising 
from  the  other  two  young  Andrews.  The  eldest  son, 
Charles,  who  had  been  a  surgeon  in  the  army,  had 

86 


JOHNSON    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

died  before  this  time.  The  White  House  has  never 
been  so  full  of  children.  They  were  an  important  in 
terest  in  the  President's  life. 

Mrs.  Johnson  was  so  much  of  an  invalid  that  out 
side  of  intimate  family  friends  very  few  knew  her. 
She  appeared  only  twice  in  public  during  her  hus 
band's  administration.  Still,  her  influence  was  a 
strong  one,  and  it  was  exerted  in  the  direction  of 
toleration  and  gentleness.  A  slight  movement  of  her 
hands,  a  touch  on  her  husband's  arm,  a  "Now,  An 
drew,"  made  it  easy  to  see  that  the  woman  who  had 
helped  him  through  his  struggling  youth  and  given 
her  health  to  his  service,  who  had  taught  him  to  write 
and  had  read  to  him  through  long  winter  evenings 
in  the  little  tailor-shop  that  his  active  mind  might  be 
fed  while  he  was  practising  his  trade,  still  held  her 
place  in  his  life.  She  was  a  sweet-faced  woman,  who 
showed  traces  of  beauty  through  the  sharpened  lines 
caused  by  the  old-fashioned  consumption  which  was 
wearing  her  out.  Her  face  was  not  unlike  that  of  the 
late  Mrs.  McKinley.  The  death  of  her  eldest  son 
was  a  blow  from  which  she  never  fully  recovered. 
The  life  in  Washington  was  not  a  happy  time  for 
her.  She  told  me  herself  that  she  was  far  more 
content  when  her  husband  was  an  industrious  young 
tailor. 

Mrs.  Stover  was  not  at  the  White  House  during  the 
whole  of  her  father's  term,  and  Mrs.  Patterson  was  the 
real  mistress  of  the  establishment.  No  woman  could 
have  acted  with  greater  sense  or  discretion.  She  had 
passed  her  girlhood  days  in  Washington,  had  been 

87 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

educated  at  a  school  in  Georgetown,  and  during  the 
Polk  administration  had  been  a  frequent  guest  at  the 
White  House,  so  she  was  not  entirely  unfamiliar  with 
official  life  in  the  capital.  She  made  no  pretences  of 
any  sort,  but  was  always  honest  and  direct.  She  said 
to  a  lady  who  called  upon  her  soon  after  she  came  to 
the  White  House,  "You  mustn't  expect  too  much 
of  us;  we  are  only  plain  people  from  Tennessee." 
The  very  modesty  of  this  statement  is  misleading. 
It  is  true  that  the  Johnsons  did  not  pretend  to  be 
leaders  in  the  social  life  of  Washington,  and  in  their 
regime  there  was  no  joyousness,  no  special  grace,  in 
the  White  House  festivities;  there  was,  however, 
exactness  in  the  discharge  of  social  duties,  and  a 
homely  dignity,  equally  free  from  ostentation  and 
undue  humility.  The  dinners  and  public  receptions 
were  more  numerous  than  under  Johnson's  successors, 
and  they  were  not  lacking  in  brilliancy.  Mr.  John 
son  quite  understood  the  value  and  place  of  social 
functions. 

The  first  public  duty  that  confronted  Mr.  Johnson 
was  the  punishment  of  those  who,  together  with 
Booth,  had  conspired  to  murder  the  late  President 
and  his  cabinet.  The  question  of  the  tribunal  had 
first  to  be  decided.  Attorney-General  Speed  gave  it 
as  his  opinion  that  it  would  be  proper  to  confide  the 
trial  to  a  military  court.  The  President  submitted 
the  matter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  together  with 
the  opinion  of  the  Attorney-General,  and  it  was  de 
termined  that  the  conspirators  should  be  tried  by  a 
military  tribunal.  It  was  desired,  because  of  the 

88 


JOHNSON    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

state  of  public  feeling,  to  have  the  matter  over  as 
early  as  possible. 

The  punishment  of  Booth  was  taken  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  law  when  he  was  shot.  The  trial  of 
the  others  took  place  immediately.  From  the  first 
there  was  no  doubt  of  the  guilt  of  Payne,  who  had 
attempted  to  murder  Mr.  Seward,  the  Secretary  of 
State ;  of  Herold,  who  failed  to  kill  Mr.  Johnson  only 
through  fear  or  lack  of  opportunity;  or  of  Atzerodt, 
who  was  to  have  aided  Herold.  But  there  was  doubt 
as  to  the  degree  of  guilt  of  Mrs.  Surratt.  To  this  day 
there  are  those  who  consider  her  guiltless  of  the 
worst.  The  haste  with  which  it  was  felt  necessary 
to  conduct  the  affair  may  have  prevented  full  justice 
being  done  her.  However  that  may  have  been,  the 
fact  that  it  was  a  woman  who  was  condemned  to  die 
made  a  large  faction  view  her  hanging  with  the  great 
est  repugnance.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  feeling 
on  both  sides. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  the  execution 
was  to  take  place,  the  daughter  of  the  condemned 
woman,  Miss  Annie  Surratt,  attempted  to  see  the 
President  to  make  a  personal  appeal  for  her  mother. 
When  she  arrived,  she  was  met  by  Secretary  Seward, 
who  was  coming  out  of  the  President's  office.  He  told 
her  that  it  was  useless  for  her  to  see  the  President; 
nothing  could  be  done  for  her.  The  President  had 
given  orders  that  no  one  was  to  be  admitted.  When 
Miss  Surratt  was  quite  convinced  of  the  hopelessness 
of  any  further  attempt,  she  went  home.  The  poor 
girl's  grief  was  pitiful.  Herold 's  two  sisters  also  came 

7  89 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

fruitlessly  to  the  White  House  to  plead  for  their 
brother. 

Because  of  the  false  light  in  which  the  President 
stood,  a  great  deal  of  criticism  grew  out  of  these  cir 
cumstances.  He  was  blamed  because  he  did  not  par 
don  Mrs.  Surratt,  or  have  the  verdict  commuted  to 
imprisonment  for  life.  He  was  blamed  more  when  it 
was  learned  that  there  had  been  a  recommendation 
to  mercy  among  the  papers  submitted  to  him  by  the 
court.  The  fact  is,  that  Secretary  Stanton,  when  he 
sent  the  papers  to  the  President,  kept  back  the  note; 
Mr.  Johnson  did  not  know  of  it  until  afterward.  When 
he  did  know  of  it,  and  of  the  fact  that  he  was  being 
blamed  for  not  having  interfered  in  the  execution  of 
Mrs.  Surratt,  he  made  a  statement  of  his  ignorance  of 
the  letter.  Of  course,  very  few  of  those  who  had 
been  condemning  him  ever  heard  the  denial.  The 
incident  increased  the  President's  unpopularity.  I 
believe  that,  had  he  seen  the  judge's  recommendation 
to  mercy,  he  would  have  been  only  too  glad  to  save 
the  woman.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  Mr.  Stan- 
ton's  motive  in  the  matter. 

Even  his  refusal  to  give  an  interview  to  Miss  Surratt 
and  the  Herold  girls  was  the  source  of  scandal.  It 
was  reported  by  the  President's  enemies  that  he  was 
intoxicated  on  the  day  they  called.  This  was  abso 
lutely  false.  I  denied  the  story  indignantly  at  the 
time,  but  a  denial  does  very  little  good  when  a  slander 
has  started  on  its  way.  The  President  was  hard  at 
work  all  day,  closeted  most  of  the  time  with  Secretary 
Seward.  He  had  taken  every  means  to  understand 

90 


JOHNSON    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

the  case.  The  records  show  his  conscientious  desire 
to  investigate.  He  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  could  not  interfere.  Therefore,  he  did  not  think 
it  wise  to  have  an  unnecessary  and  painful  interview. 

In  all  my  experience  there  never  has  been  an  ad 
ministration,  unless  it  be  the  later  one  of  Mr.  Cleve 
land,  where  there  has  been  such  complete  misunder 
standing  between  the  mass  of  the  people  and  the 
executive  as  in  that  of  Andrew  Johnson.  In  my 
recollection  it  stands  out  as  a  feverish  time,  when 
events  occurred  without  reason,  without  sequence, 
and  larger  than  life.  The  war  had  been  a  time  of 
great  emotions — of  suffering,  heroism,  and  the  many 
virtues  of  hardihood  and  tenderness  that  war  brings 
out.  Afterward  the  reverse  side  was  the  one  in 
evidence.  The  spectacle  of  sudden  loss  and  sudden 
elevation  to  wealth  and  prominence  was  equally 
demoralizing  to  the  mass  of  those  fitted  to  do  nothing 
but  plod.  One  result  of  all  this  was  that  at  Wash 
ington  we  saw  everywhere  a  very  fury  for  office- 
holding,  an  egotistical  thrusting  of  small  men  into 
the  affairs  of  state,  avalanches  of  advice  and  blame, 
equally  stupid,  from  men  without  the  slightest  claim 
to  be  heard,  but  accustomed,  during  the  years  of  the 
war,  to  consider  national  affairs  their  own. 

Only  the  President  and  his  secretaries  know  how 
many  thousands  of  requests  for  favors  came  from 
women.  They  seemed  to  regard  Mr.  Johnson  as  their 
appointed  guardian.  It  is  probable  that  there  was 
some  reason  for  the  confidence  with  which  these 
feminine  ambassadors  made  their  wishes  known.  Mr, 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Johnson  had  an  amiable  weakness  for  women,  par 
ticularly  for  pretty  women.  Those  of  us  who  were 
on  duty  in  corridors  and  in  anterooms  saw  many 
evidences  of  this  fact.  It  seemed  to  be  a  purely  un 
conscious  tendency.  He  found  it  hard  to  believe  that 
anything  but  merit  and  need  could  lurk  behind  a 
pair  of  beseeching  woman's  eyes. 

The  masculine  specialty  of  the  time  was  the  crank. 
Every  administration  has  them,  of  course,  but  they 
were  particularly  active  during  Mr.  Johnson's  admin 
istration.  We  learned  how  to  handle  them — with 
gloves,  but  effectually.  One  man  named  Grapevine 
I  remember  very  distinctly.  He  came  to  see  the 
President  several  times.  Finally,  one  day,  when  he 
was  told  that  the  President  would  not  see  him,  he 
became  furious.  He  raved  like  a  madman,  and 
threatened  to  kill  Mr.  Johnson.  He  said: 

"What  are  you  all  doing  here?  I  am  the  Presi 
dent,  and  that  man  is  an  impostor."  Then  he  tried 
to  force  his  way  in  to  the  President.  At  that  stage, 
of  course,  I  took  him  in  hand  and  put  him  under 
arrest.  When  he  was  examined,  it  was  discovered 
that  he  was  armed  with  a  large  bowie-knife.  He  was 
sent  to  the  insane  asylum. 

Another  day  a  brother  of  a  Union  general  came  to 
the  White  House.  He  said  his  business  was  of  great 
importance;  it  could  not  be  postponed.  It  was  im 
possible  for  the  President  to  see  him  at  that  time,  and 
the  man  became  very  angry.  We  talked  to  him,  and 
thought  we  had  persuaded  him  to  go  away  and  try 
again  another  time.  I  saw  that  he  was  not  quite 

92 


JOHNSON    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

sane,  so  I  walked  quietly  down-stairs  with  him  and 
down  the  walk  that  led  to  the  Treasury  Department. 
About  fifty  paces  from  the  White  House  I  left  him, 
thinking  he  would  make  no  further  trouble.  As  I 
turned  my  back,  one  of  the  doorkeepers  called  out : 

''Look  out!  He  is  going  to  shoot  you!"  I  turned, 
and  saw  him  struggling  with  a  soldier  who  happened 
to  be  passing  just  in  time  to  knock  up  his  arm  as  he 
aimed  a  pistol  at  me.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
since  he  was  armed  with  a  perfectly  new  pistol,  and 
since  he  tried  to  shoot  the  man  who  kept  him  from 
the  President,  he  had  intended  to  shoot  Mr.  Johnson. 
Episodes  of  that  kind  were  of  frequent  occurrence  in 
the  White  House.  We  dealt  with  them  quietly,  and 
they  rarely  got  into  the  newspapers.  It  is  usually 
a  simple  thing  to  manage  cranks  of  both  sexes.  I 
have  often  had  men  and  women  refuse  to  leave  the 
anteroom  when  they  were  told  they  could  not  see  the 
President.  When  it  was  a  lady  who  was  persistent— 

"All  right,"  I  would  say;  "make  yourself  perfectly 
comfortable,  madam.  Try  this  chair."  After  the 
lady  had  waited  long  enough  to  be  thoroughly  tired 
and  the  President  had  left  his  office  by  another  door, 
I  would  inform  her  that  the  President  had  left  his 
office  for  that  day  and  invite  her  to  return  to-morrow. 
They  rarely  came  back,  and  there  was  never  any 
disturbance. 

It  is  perhaps  not  surprising  that  there  should  have 
begun,  just  at  this  time,  an  epidemic  of  dishonesty 
among  those  who  wanted  to  make  money  out  of  the 
government,  to  be  matched,  if  the  furore  of  disclosures 

93 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

and  investigations  through  which  we  are  now  passing 
is  any  evidence,  only  by  the  one  just  ended.  Then, 
however,  it  was  the  petty  office-holders  and  a  host 
of  unprincipled  hangers-on.  The  peculiar  opportuni 
ties  for  easily  made  money  offered  by  the  times  were 
a  great  temptation. 

Before  Mr.  Johnson  had  been  in  office  many  months, 
it  was  discovered  that  a  doorkeeper  who  stood  at  the 
entrance  to  the  President's  office  had  been  charging 
an  admission  fee  to  those  who  wanted  to  approach 
the  President  with  any  of  the  thousands  of  requests 
that  were  made  to  him.  The  man  had  amassed  a 
comfortable  little  competence  before  the  fact  was 
discovered  and  he  was  removed. 

On  November  25,  1865,  I  resigned  my  position 
with  the  Metropolitan  Police  force  to  become  the 
President's  private  policeman.  From  this  time  I  was 
associated  much  more  intimately  with  Mr.  Johnson. 
I  was  with  him  almost  as  much  as  I  was  with  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  when  I  accompanied  him  to  City  Point 
and  Richmond.  Virtually  every  day  that  Mr.  John 
son  went  out  driving  I  went  with  him.  Sometimes 
I  rode  by  the  side  of  the  carriage  on  a  saddle-horse 
which  had  been  bought  for  Colonel  Robert  Johnson, 
but  which  he  never  rode.  More  often  I  sat  by  the 
President's  side. 

The  work  of  the  executive  office  was  complicated 
and  unending.  The  President  needed  all  of  the  long 
hours  he  spent  at  his  desk.  Sometimes,  among  all 
the  difficulties  presented  to  him  to  solve,  a  humorous 
episode  occurred  which  freshened  the  atmosphere. 

94 


JOHNSON    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

After  a  while  it  would  filter  out  to  us  who  stood  in 
corridors  and  anterooms.  A  man  whose  name  was 
Gordon,  I  think,  was  very  much  exercised.  He  was 
in  a  panic  because  the  negroes  who  were  then  the 
charges  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  in  his  district  were 
dying  fast.  At  that  rate  he  figured  that  in  about 
eight  months  the  entire  negro  population  would  perish. 
He  wanted  the  President  to  do  something  about  it. 
A  Southern  woman  who  did  not  like  the  provisional 
governor  in  her  State,  and  who  was  evidently  a  con 
sumer  of  romance,  suggested  that  the  President  should 
come  there  in  disguise  and  investigate  for  himself. 
Then  there  was  one  girl  —  a  very  young  girl  —  who 
wanted  a  rest  of  several  months  to  be  given  to  her 
sweetheart  in  the  army.  She  said  he  was  "all  tired 
out."  She  reminded  the  President  that  he  had  told 
her  that  their  attachment  ought  to  be  tried,  and  said 
that  he  must  acknowledge  that  it  had  been. 


VI 

DISSENSION   WITH  THE   RADICALS 

WHILE  Mr.  Johnson  was  amused  over  these  in 
cidents,  he  talked  little  about  passing  events; 
in  fact,  he  talked  little  about  anything.  I  never  saw 
a  man  who  was  more  content  to  hold  his  own  counsel. 
One  thing  was  evident,  however:  the  President  was 
changing  his  mind  about  the  Southern  people.  He 
had  been  so  very  bitter  in  regard  to  the  rebellion,  and 
apparently  antagonistic  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  sympathetic 
tolerance,  that  every  one  expected  severity  in  his 
measures  toward  the  South.  We  now  feel  sure  that 
Secretary  Seward,  who  had  been  at  one  with  Presi 
dent  Lincoln,  influenced  President  Johnson  in  those 
early  days. 

No  one  knows  what  were  the  rigors  of  Mr.  Se ward's 
position  throughout  this  administration,  standing  be 
tween  a  vehement  President  and  a  vehement  Con 
gress,  and  attempting  to  influence  each  faction  to 
readjust  and  modify  its  views.  With  Charles  Sumner, 
Thaddeus  Stevens,  and  men  of  their  stamp,  he  failed 
utterly.  As  had  been  the  case  all  through  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  administration,  they  refused  to  modify  their 
radical  principles.  With  the  President  he  did  not 
succeed  completely.  Could  the  world  know  of  the 

96 


DISSENSION    WITH    THE    RADICALS 

fruitless  and  painful  interviews  which  Secretary 
Seward  had  with  these  men,  and  then  observe  the 
spectacle  of  his  steadfast  loyalty  to  the  President,  of 
whose  conduct  he  often  disapproved,  no  man  would 
emerge  from  the  contentions  of  this  period  with  more 
honor  in  the  estimation  of  his  countrymen.  This, 
however,  is  to  anticipate  the  contention  in  which  Mr. 
Johnson,  yielding  to  what  he  believed  to  be  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  policy  toward  the  defeated  South,  and  in 
fluenced  by  his  own  comprehension  of  conditions  in 
the  Confederate  States,  was  moved  to  lay  aside  his 
own  animosity  toward  the  greater  part  of  the  South 
ern  leaders.  Toward  some  of  them — those  whom  he 
considered  responsible  for  leading  their  region  into 
rebellion — he  never  softened. 

The  truth  is  that  Mr.  Johnson  was  not  moved  very 
much  in  his  estimate  of  men  by  the  way  in  which  they 
had  treated  him  personally.  If  they  had  failed  in 
what  he  considered  their  public  duty,  he  could  be 
severe  enough;  but,  except  in  two  cases,  I  believe 
he  felt  no  personal  enmity  to  them.  Of  "Parson" 
Brownlow,  his  bitterest  enemy  in  his  own  State,  I 
heard  Mr.  Johnson  speak  most  pleasantly.  This  is 
all  the  more  remarkable  when  we  remember  that, 
having  left  nothing  undone  to  defeat  the  President's 
wishes  with  regard  to  Tennessee,  Brownlow  tele 
graphed  to  Congress  the  news  of  the  ratification  of 
the  Fourteenth  Amendment  with  the  insulting  mes 
sage,  "Tell  this  to  the  dead  dog  of  the  White  House!" 
In  his  public  addresses  he  inveighed  against  Sumner 
and  Stevens  and  Wendell  Phillips,  but  when  he  met 

97 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

them  he  seemed  wholly  unprejudiced.  One  of  his  bit 
terest  political  enemies  related  that  on  the  day  fol 
lowing  the  vote  on  impeachment,  when  he  had  voted 
to  impeach,  he  met  Andrew  Johnson,  who  smiled  and 
held  out  his  hand.  In  the  same  manner,  in  spite  of 
his  fierceness  toward  the  rebellion,  he  was  now  made 
to  believe  in  the  loyalty  of  the  South. 

One  thing  that  specially  moved  Mr.  Johnson  to  this 
latter  belief  was  the  optimistic  report  made  by  Gen 
eral  Grant  after  a  tour  through  the  heart  of  the 
Confederacy.  He  stated  that  he  saw  everywhere  an 
intention  to  return  to  full  allegiance  to  the  Union  as 
soon  as  the  conditions  of  that  return  were  established. 
When  the  report  was  sent  to  Congress,  where  it  was 
pointedly  ignored,  Senator  Sumner  pronounced  it  a 
whitewashing  message. 

These  are  some  of  the  motives  that  influenced  the 
President's  message  to  Congress  when  it  assembled 
in  December,  1865.  I  remember  how  great  was  the 
surprise  at  the  tenor  of  the  message,  and  how  gene 
ral  the  admiration  of  the  dignity  and  clearness  with 
which  it  was  expressed.  In  the  newspapers  and  in 
the  conversation  of  men  there  was  scarcely  a  dissent 
ing  voice;  the  President  at  once  took  a  position  as 
statesman  which  he  had  never  occupied  before.  Men 
like  George  Bancroft  cordially  endorsed  his  attitude. 
The  South  felt  that  a  champion  had  arisen.  The  only 
dissenting  voice  was  from  the  extreme  Northern  ele 
ment  in  Congress — the  Radicals,  as  they  were  called. 

While  any  discussion  of  President  Johnson's  public 
acts  does  not  come  strictly  within  the  limits  of  my 

98 


DISSENSION    WITH    THE    RADICALS 

field  of  personal  reminiscence,  I  feel  that  it  is  neces 
sary  to  touch  upon  some  features  of  the  President's 
long  contention  with  Congress. 

I  believe  firmly  that  President  Johnson  wished  to 
carry  out  the  policy  which  had  been  advocated  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  before  he  died.  I  believe,  moreover,  that 
it  was  substantially  the  policy  which  President  Lin 
coln  would  have  attempted  to  carry  through  if  he 
had  lived.  There  is,  however,  this  one  point  of  dif 
ference:  meeting  the  fierce  opposition  which  the 
Radical  element  in  Congress  displayed,  President 
Lincoln,  who  knew  how  to  manage  men  and  to  com 
promise,  would  have  yielded  in  minor  points,  where 
he  could  have  done  so  and  still  carry  out  his  policy 
of  immediate  and  practical  help  for  the  South.  It 
was  in  this  one  feature  that  President  Johnson  failed 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  his  position. 

In  President  Lincoln's  last  speech  he  expressed,  so 
far  as  he  had  been  able  to  see  his  way,  his  plan  of  re 
construction.  There  should  be  a  general  amnesty, 
with  a  few  exceptions.  For  the  rest,  when  the  South 
had  banished  slavery,  it  should  be  allowed  to  reor 
ganize  its  State  governments  under  the  "  Louisiana 
plan."  The  Louisiana  plan  was  to  allow  the  loyal 
minority  in  each  State  to  form  a  government.  Con 
gress  would  recognize  any  republican  form  of  govern 
ment  which  should  be  established  by  insurgents  who 
should  have  taken  the  amnesty  oath  and  Were  regu 
larly  qualified  voters  in  1860,  provided  the  votes  cast 
were  not  less  than  one-tenth  in  number  of  the  votes 
cast  that  year.  This  plan  of  reconstruction  rested 

99 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

upon  the  theory  that  the  Southern  States,  having  no 
right  under  the  Constitution  to  withdraw  from  the 
Union,  were  still  members  of  the  Union.  While  rebels 
were  present  in  each  State,  the  loyal  minority  were 
still  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  had  a  right  to 
representation  in  Congress. 

Now,  the  war  having  been  fought  by  the  Federal 
authority  upon  just  this  principle,  that  the  Southern 
States  had  no  right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union, 
President  Lincoln's  plan  was  merely  the  logical  con 
sequence  of  the  theory.  It  presented  difficulties  and 
inconsistencies,  no  doubt,  and  it  was  hard  to  con 
ceive  seriously  of  States  which,  during  the  war,  had 
been  at  the  same  time  in  and  out  of  the  Union;  but, 
then,  there  was  not  a  single  theory  prevalent  at  the 
time  which  did  not  present  inconsistencies.  Those 
who,  with  Thaddeus  Stevens,  had  been  most  fierce 
in  declaring  that  the  Southern  States  had  no  con 
stitutional  right  to  secede,  were  most  vehement,  when 
the  war  was  over,  in  maintaining  that  the  Con 
federacy  was  a  conquered  power  beyond  the  pale  of 
consideration  from  good  Republicans,  and  not  to  be 
restored  to  the  Union  until  she  had  been  soundly 
punished  for  her  sins.  The  abolitionists,  who,  with 
Charles  Sumner,  were  most  vehement  in  advocating 
the  equal  rights  of  man,  were  determined  to  foist 
upon  the  Southern  States,  without  their  consent, 
the  franchise  for  the  lately  emancipated  slaves,  and 
to  disfranchise  the  ruling  element. 

In  his  eagerly  expected  message  President  John 
son  expressed  the  principle  which  had  animated 

100 


DISSENSION    WITH    THE    RADICALS 

President  Lincoln:  the  Southern  States  were  still  in 
the  Union,  their  functions  had  been  suspended,  not 
destroyed .  The  Thirteenth  Amendment ,  tyliich  abol 
ished  slavery,  having  been  passed,  and' 'the  a.rnnesty 
oath  having  been  taken,  the  next  step  was' tort Keir  rep 
resentatives  to  resume  their  seats  in  Congress.  Con 
gress  alone  had  the  right  to  determine  on  the  eligibil 
ity  of  members.  The  question  of  negro  suffrage  was  to 
be  left  to  the  States,  as  had  been  the  matter  of  suf 
frage  from  the  beginning.  Before  Congress  had  met, 
and  pending  their  action,  Mr.  Johnson  had  begun  the 
work  of  restoring  the  governments  of  those  States 
which  were  ready  to  convene  loyal  assemblies,  after 
the  plan  followed  in  Louisiana.  There  had  been 
some  dissension  in  the  cabinet  over  the  matter. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  extreme  Radicals,  Secre 
tary  Stanton  had  endeavored  to  introduce  a  require 
ment  as  to  negro  suffrage,  while  Speed  and  Harlan 
were  in  opposition.  The  latter  two  soon  withdrew, 
as  was  proper  in  the  circumstances,  while  Stanton, 
apparently  restored  to  sympathy,  remained  in  office. 

From  the  principles  laid  down  in  his  message  Presi 
dent  Johnson  never  swerved.  Every  act  passed  by 
Congress  that  violated  these  principles  he  consistently 
vetoed.  That  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Act  and  the 
Civil  Rights  Act  would  receive  his  condemnation  was 
a  foregone  conclusion.  From  the  comments  of  the 
press  throughout  the  country  there  was  no  doubt 
that  the  mass  of  the  people  were  with  the  President. 

With  the  veto  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Act,  which 
made  no  uncertain  declaration  of  the  President's  in- 

IOI 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

tentions,  began  a  most  amazing  chapter  in  the  history 
of  our  Congress.  Since  a  struggle  was  imminent,  it 
was'ne'oesr.ary  to  be  sure  of  a  two-thirds  Republican 
majority  in  order  to  pass  acts  over  the  veto.  Every 
'expedient  was  resorted  to :  a  senator  was  rejected  on 
a  re-examination  of  credentials,  before  approved;  a 
would-be  honorable  senator  was  forced  to  break  his 
pair ;  in  order  that  another  pair  might  not  be  broken,  a 
dying  man  was  hurried  to  the  Senate,  only  to  find  that 
the  vote  had  been  taken  in  haste  to  exclude  his.  It 
was  by  such  means  that  the  bill  was  passed  over  the 
veto.  But  the  majority  was  too  small.  It  was  pro 
posed  to  admit  two  States,  below  the  requirement  of 
numbers,  on  an  abolition  platform  dictated  by  the 
Radicals,  in  order  to  swell  the  number.  One  such 
State  was  actually  admitted.  An  examination  of 
the  speeches  in  both  House  and  Senate  of  those 
months  shows  them  filled  with  a  wild  alarm,  not  for 
the  country,  but  for  the  Republican  party. 

"We  need  their  votes,"  said  Charles  Sumner,  of 
the  negroes. 

"If  the  Southern  States  are  readmitted  on  equal 
terms,  what  of  our  majority?"  was  on  every  Radical 
tongue. 

It  is  necessary  to  observe,  moreover,  that  this  op 
position  to  any  but  the  most  radical  and  severe 
measures  toward  the  South  did  not  result  from  the 
action  of  President  Johnson.  Before  the  President's 
message  had  been  sent  to  Congress  the  opposition  had 
been  thoroughly  organized;  the  principle  had  been 
laid  down  that  only  Congress  should  preside  over  re- 

102 


DISSENSION    WITH    THE    RADICALS 

construction.  It  had,  moreover,  earlier  than  this  been 
organized  and  powerful  enough  to  oppose  President 
Lincoln  most  bitterly  in  his  efforts  to  restore  the 
South  without  punitive  measures.  It  had  been  in 
abeyance  for  a  short  time  because  the  triumphant 
end  of  the  war  had  made  Mr.  Lincoln  virtually  a 
dictator.  But  his  death  saved  Abraham  Lincoln 
from  the  bitterest  struggle  of  his  life. 

Mr.  Ward  Lamon,  who  was  one  of  the  most  in 
timate  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends,  evidently  believed 
this.  He  said  to  Mr.  Johnson  (the  letter  can  be 
produced) : 

I  had  many  and  free  conversations  with  him  [Lincoln]  on 
this  very  subject  of  reconstruction.  I  was  made  entirely 
certain  by  his  own  repeated  declarations  to  me  that  he 
would  exert  all  his  authority  to  bring  about  an  immediate 
and  perfect  reconciliation  between  the  two  sections  of  the 
country.  As  far  as  depended  upon  him,  he  would  have  had 
the  Southern  States  represented  in  both  houses  of  Congress 
within  the  shortest  possible  time.  ...  He  knew  the  base 
designs  of  the  Radicals  to  keep  up  the  strife  for  their  own 
advantage.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Northern  Dis- 
unionists  would  now  be  as  loud  in  their  denunciation  of  his 
policy  as  they  are  of  yours.  ...  If  there  be  any  insult  upon 
his  reputation  which  we  should  resent  more  than  another,,  it 
is  the  assertion  that  he  would  have  been  a  tool  and  an  instru 
ment  in  the  hands  of  such  men  as  those  who  now  lead  the 
heartless  and  unprincipled  contest  against  you. 

At  the  time  that  all  these  things  were  happening 
we  saw  at  the  White  House  no  evidence  that  they 
affected  the  President  in  any  personal  way.  He  was 
such  a  reticent  man  that  I  was  surprised  at  a  speech 
he  made  on  the  22d  of  February,  1866.  A  great 

103 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

crowd  had  assembled  in  the  White  House  grounds. 
They  wanted  a  speech.  By  reason  of  his  unexpected 
championship  of  the  Southern  States,  President  John 
son  had  become  a  figure  in  the  public  eye.  He  be 
gan  to  speak  to  the  crowd  calmly  and  dispassionately. 
He  spoke  of  the  question  at  issue  before  the  country. 
He  said  that  there  had  been  two  extreme  elements 
in  the  national  life — that  of  the  South,  which,  having 
asserted  'itself  for  slavery,  had  been  suppressed ;  that 
of  the  North,  which,  now  beginning  to  show  itself, 
was  just  as  intolerant.  For  himself  he  belonged  to 
neither  class.  He  was  for  the  Union,  slavery  or  no 
slavery.  The  "conscious  intelligent  traitors"  should 
be  punished ;  there  should  be  amnesty  for  the  multi 
tude.  .  .  .  To  admit  that  a  State  was  out  of  the  Union 
was  the  very  thing  the  nation  had  been  fighting 
against,  insisting  that  this  was  something  a  State 
could  not  do. 

The  crowd  became  enthusiastic;  the  President  be 
gan  to  speak  more  warmly.  I  know  he  must  have 
been  sore  because  of  the  revenge  which  Congress  had 
taken  for  his  veto  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Act. 
For  they  had  retaliated  by  refusing  to  admit  the 
representatives  of  his  own  State,  of  whose  record  he 
was  so  proud  and  which  he  had  done  so  much  to 
keep  loyal.  He  said  that  Congress  was  governed  by 
"an  irresponsible  central  directory"  which  did  not 
represent  the  people — was  no  Congress.  Some  one 
in  the  crowd  shouted, 

"Name  them!" 

The  President  hesitated  a  moment;  then  he  said, 

104 


DISSENSION    WITH    THE    RADICALS 

"Yes,  I  will  name  them" — at  this  there  was  great 
excitement — "Thaddeus  Stevens,  Charles  Sumner." 

From  this  time  on  there  was  a  great  change  in 
the  way  people  regarded  him.  One  man  said  to 
him, 

"Your  speech  made  me  feel  mortified."  And  I 
think  this  would  express  the  feeling  that  most  of 
Andrew  Johnson's  friends  had  about  this  most  un 
fortunate  matter.  Still,  he  showed  no  feeling,  but 
went  on  with  the  programme  he  had  made  for  him 
self.  On  the  1 8th  of  April  a  delegation  of  sailors  and 
soldiers  came  to  see  him.  He  spoke  to  them  in  much 
the  same  tone  as  that  of  his  speech  of  the  226.  of 
February.  He  assured  them  of  his  unalterable  de 
termination  to  "stick  to  his  position."  He  spoke 
contemptuously  of  men  who,  when  he  was  battling 
for  the  Union  in  the  Senate  and  in  his  own  State, 
were  "lolling  in  ease  and  comfort.  ..."  Now  they 
were  attacking  him,  ".  .  .  the  whole  pack,  Tray, 
Blanche,  and  Sweetheart,  little  dogs  and  all,  snapping 
at  my  heels."  I  suppose  this  was  very  undignified 
and  bad  policy,  but  the  crowd  enjoyed  it,  and  noth 
ing  could  have  been  a  better  description  of  the  attacks 
made  upon  the  President  by  certain  men  in  Congress. 

There  is  one  thing  which  must  be  understood. 
These  addresses  of  the  President  seemed  much  more 
undignified  to  the  country  at  large  than  to  those 
who  heard  them.  In  the  first  place,  the  newspaper 
man,  then  as  now,  was  on  the  outlook  for  a  sensation. 
In  fact,  there  was  less  regard  for  the  truth  then,  even 
with  the  better  class  of  journals,  than  there  is  to-day. 

8  105 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Party  feeling  and  interests  ran  high,  and  editors  were 
violently  partisan. 

More  than  this,  Mr.  Johnson's  manner  in  delivering 
public  speeches  was  one  which  could  not  be  trans 
lated  into  newspaper  language.  I  realized  this  when 
I  stood  near  him  on  the  portico  while  he  talked  to 
the  soldiers  and  sailors.  He  had  a  calm,  assured  way 
of  talking  which  gave  the  most  startling  remarks 
authority.  His  bearing  was  quiet  and  dignified,  his 
voice  low  and  sympathetic.  He  had  one  of  the  best 
voices  for  public  speaking  that  I  have  ever  heard. 
It  was  singularly  penetrating;  he  could  make  it 
carry  to  the  edge  of  the  largest  gathering  without 
effort.  Yet  it  was  always  a  pleasant  voice.  I  have 
been  startled  myself  to  read  the  same  speech  in  the 
paper  that  I  had  heard  the  day  before.  One  would 
think,  from  what  was  written,  that  a  violent  dema 
gogue  was  brandishing  his  arms  and  shrieking  at  the 
top  of  his  lungs.  Mr.  Johnson  was  an  orator;  half 
of  what  was  said  was  in  the  personal  relation  between 
the  audience  and  himself,  and,  being  an  orator,  he 
was  often  swayed  by  the  emotion  of  the  crowd.  Had 
he  been  sympathetically  reported,  the  country  would 
have  had  a  different  impression  of  him. 

There  is  a  story  I  have  heard  which  illustrates  both 
this  magnetic  quality  of  the  man  and  his  fearlessness. 
It  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  struggle  in  Tennessee, 
when  he  was  hated  by  the  whole  secession  element. 
He  was  to  address  a  meeting  in  the  town-hall.  He 
had  been  informed  on  good  authority  that  half  a 
dozen  men  were  ready  to  shoot  him  as  soon  as  he 

106 


DISSENSION    WITH    THE    RADICALS 

appeared  before  the  audience.  When  he  appeared  on 
the  platform,  he  advanced  to  the  speaker's  stand. 
Something  held  the  crowd  to  silence  while  he  deliber 
ately  pulled  a  pistol  out  of  his  pocket.  He  laid  it  on 
the  table  while  a  spell-bound  crowd  hung  on  his  move 
ments.  Then  at  last  he  spoke: 

"I  understand,"  he  said,  in  his  placid  way,  "that 
the  first  business  before  the  meeting  is  to  shoot  me. 
I  move  that  the  meeting  proceed  to  business."  Dur 
ing  the  few  minutes  that  he  scanned  the  audience 
there  was  breathless  silence.  At  last,  when  no  one 
moved,  he  began  his  address  in  rather  a  disappointed 
manner. 

Except  when  the  excitement  of  a  crowd  stirred  him 
to  intemperance  of  language,  the  President  possessed 
the  dignity  of  reticence. 

As  the  summer  came  on,  my  drive  with  Mr.  John 
son  became  a  daily  occurrence,  and  often  lasted  the 
greater  part  of  the  afternoon.  We  often  took  the 
children  with  us,  and  had  a  picnic.  I  think  the  great 
est  source  of  recreation  the  President  had  was  in  his 
grandchildren.  His  own  youngest  son  was  about 
thirteen  at  this  time  and  had  his  own  pursuits;  but 
the  grandchildren  were  always  ready. 

With  a  carriage  full  of  children  we  would  drive  to 
some  place  by  Rock  Creek  Pierce's  Mill,  or  elsewhere. 
There  was  one  retired  little  meadow  by  the  stream  of 
which  we  were  all  fond.  There  the  children  would 
fish,  wade,  or  pick  flowers,  and  the  President  would 
watch  them  and  reflect.  We  would  drive  home  with 
the  carriage  filled  with  flowers. 

107 


V 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

When  we  were  alone  we  always  stopped  at  some 
quiet  and  beautiful  spot,  where  Mr.  Johnson  could 
walk  for  an  hour  or  more,  almost  always  in  silence. 
He  often  went  to  Glenwood  Cemetery.  There  was 
something  in  the  peace  of  such  a  place  that  appealed 
to  him.  One  day  he  had  been  wandering  about  in 
Glenwood  reading  the  inscriptions  on  the  tombstones 
when  I  heard  him  laughing.  I  went  up  to  him.  He 
did  not  laugh  very  often. 

"Look  there,  Crook,"  he  said,  pointing  to  two  graves 
side  by  side.  On  the  first  was, ' '  Sacred  to  the  Memory 
of  my  Wife — By  her  disconsolate  husband . ' '  The  other 
grave,  dated  two  years  later,  was  that  of  the  second  wife. 

"It  didn't  take  that  fellow  long  to  get  over  his 
first  affliction,  did  it?"  said  the  President. 

I  fully  believe  that,  had  the  elections  occurred  im 
mediately  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress  in  the 
summer  of  1866,  the  Radicals  would  have  been  de 
feated.  It  was  not  that  the  President  had  not  made 
many  enemies  by  his  unwise  speech  on  the  226.  of 
February.  It  was  because,  even  in  New  England, 
there  was  a  general  distrust  of  the  Radical  pro 
gramme.  In  April,  Harper's  Weekly  and  The  Nation 
had  commented  on  the  weak  points  of  the  leadership 
of  Thad  Stevens.  There  was  a  strong  sentiment 
against  further  punishment  of  the  South.  There  was 
much  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of  negro  suffrage. 
All  of  the  efforts  of  the  Radicals  during  the  summer- 
Wendell  Phillips  making  campaign  speeches  every 
where  and  proposing  to  impeach  the  President,  Ben 
Butler  touring  the  country  denouncing  the  President, 

108 


DISSENSION    WITH    THE    RADICALS 

Sumner  instructing  large  audiences  in  Massachusetts 
— would  probably  have  been  fruitless  had  Mr.  John 
son  himself  not  made  his  second  great  mistake. 

As  I  have  said  before,  the  President  was  accus 
tomed  in  making  public  speeches  to  come  into  per 
sonal  relations  with  his  audiences.  In  his  career  in 
Tennessee  this  method  had  been  largely  a  factor  in 
his  success.  Now,  in  his  anxiety  over  the  great  ques 
tions  at  stake — the  issue  to  be  determined  by  the  fall 
elections — he  determined  to  make  a  direct  appeal  to 
the  voters.  There  was  to  be  a  great  ceremony  at  the 
unveiling  of  the  Douglas  monument  at  Chicago.  Mr. 
Johnson  made  attendance  on  this  the  occasion  for  a 
partial  tour  of  the  country.  Philadelphia,  New  York, 
Albany,  Cleveland,  St.  Louis,  and  Chicago  were  to  be 
visited.  Secretaries  Welles  and  Randall,  with  Secre 
tary  Seward,  General  Grant,  and  Admiral  Farragut, 
were  of  the  party. 

Mr.  Johnson  had  an  unfortunate  propensity  for 
coining  phrases  which  could  be  used  to  ridicule  him. 
On  one  occasion  he  had  referred  to  himself  as  the 
Moses  who  offered  himself  to  lead  the  country  out  of 
bondage.  He  figured  as  "Moses"  in  street  songs  for 
months.  On  another  occasion  he  had  talked  of 
"swinging  round  the  circle"  of  political  conviction 
from  North  to  South.  This  projected  trip  was  im 
mediately  labelled  "swinging  round  the  circle,"  and 
the  newspaper  men  of  the  country  took  out  their  writ 
ing-pads  prepared  to  have  a  thoroughly  enjoyable  time. 

The  President  had  always  been  a  popular  figure 
with  newspaper  correspondents.  Whether  he  was  to 

109 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

be  admired  or  blamed,  he  was  always  an  energetic  and 
vivid  personality.  There  was  sure  to  be  something 
to  report.  Again,  the  journals  at  that  time  were 
yellow  beyond  possibility  of  emulation  by  the  papers 
of  to-day.  The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  type 
in  many  of  the  news-sheets  throughout  the  country : 
"Andy,  Andy,  you  are  terribly  popular  with  the  rab 
ble!  Everything  that  smells,  but  does  not  perfume; 
everything  rotten  and  mouldering,  whatever  is  corrupt 
and  putrefying,  sticks  to  thee!  Toads  and  owls  howl 
to  thee!  Jackals  and  hyenas  snuffle  after  thee.  ..." 
There  were  newspaper  correspondents  accompanying 
the  party,  but,  as  will  be  seen  later,  they  were  entirely 
unable  to  stem  the  tide  of  sensationalism.  The  tour 
was  immediately  pronounced  an  undignified  depart 
ure  from  the  custom  of  former  presidents.  The  un 
fortunate  reputation  for  drunkenness  which  had  fast 
ened  upon  Mr.  Johnson  was  made  to  do  duty  again, 
with  rumors  of  immense  stores  of  liquors  which  made 
the  special  cars  travelling  bar-rooms.  The  country 
prepared  to  be  shocked. 

The  country  was  disappointed  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  the  journey.  There  was  a  moderate  amount  of 
enthusiasm  in  the  reception  of  the  party  in  Phila 
delphia  and  New  York.  In  Albany  the  atmosphere 
was  chilling;  in  Auburn  there  was  a  remarkable 
speech  against  the  Republican  Party  from  Ex-Presi 
dent  Fillmore.  At  Cleveland  the  crowd  was  dis 
orderly.  The  President  was  interrupted  again  and 
again;  there  was  evidently  an  organized  movement 
to  prevent  his  speaking.  He  attempted  to  reply  to 

no 


DISSENSION    WITH    THE    RADICALS 

insulting  interruptions,  lost  his  temper,  was  baited 
by  the  crowd,  and  for  a  time  all  semblance  of  dignity 
was  lost.  Ultimately  he  pulled  himself  together, 
silenced  his  tormentors,  and  closed  triumphantly. 
At  Chicago  there  was  the  same  disorderly  crowd,  and 
undoubtedly  preconcerted  interruptions.  The  Presi 
dent  was  provoked  into  intemperance  and  a  declara 
tion  that  he  would  "kick  the  Radicals  out."  These 
unfortunate  scenes  were  immediately  telegraphed  over 
the  country,  with  every  embellishment  possible.  They 
lost  the  President  the  elections ;  gave  the  Radicals  an 
overwhelming  majority ;  made  possible  the  horrors  of 
congressional  reconstruction. 

After  this  there  was  no  possibility  of  stemming  the 
tide  of  unpopularity.  The  President  figured  in  the 
popular  mind  as  almost  a  monster.  The  Atlantic 
Monthly,  which  had  always  stood  for  all  that  was 
most  conservative  and  careful  in  the  country,  pub 
lished  a  series  of  studies,  advertised  widely  by  the 
magazine  as  "Remarkable  articles  on  President  John 
son,"  in  which  Mr.  Johnson  was  studied  as  though 
he  were  some  abnormal  product  of  an  alien  race.  His 
traits  are  analyzed  thus: 

.  .  .  his  gross  inconsistencies  of  opinion  and  policy,  his  shame 
less  betrayal  of  party,  incapacity  to  hold  himself  to  his 
word,  his  hatred  of  a  cause  the  moment  its  defenders  cease 
to  flatter  him,  his  habit  of  administering  laws  he  has  vetoed 
on  the  principle  that  they  do  not  mean  what  he  vetoed  them 
for  meaning,  his  delight  in  little  tricks  of  low  cunning.  .  .  . 
It  would  seem  that,  in  dealing  with  such  a  man  as  Andrew 
Johnson,  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  suspect  the  worst,  ...  a 
spiteful,  inflated,  and  unprincipled  egotist. 

in 


VII 

THE   IMPEACHMENT 

[WATCHED  hmTafter  he  returned  from  this  disas 
trous  trip,  when  he  was  the  most  unpopular  man 
in  the  country,  and  threats  of  impeachment  were  a 
matter  of  daily  occurrence.  His  manner  was  abso 
lutely  as  when  he  first  took  upon  himself  the  cares 
of  office.  In  our  daily  drives  there  was  never  a 
reference  to  what  was  passing.  He  spoke,  when  he 
spoke  at  all,  about  indifferent  things.  There  was  not 
an  added  line  in  his  face.  And  yet  there  was  evidence, 
from  that  time  on,  that  he  had  learned  his  lesson; 
that,  as  he  once  said  to  me,  when  he  was  convinced 
that  he  had  been  wrong,  he  was  ready  to  change. 
For  never  after  this,  so  far  as  I  remember,  was  he 
betrayed  by  the  warmth  of  his  feeling  into  an  unwise 
public  utterance.  During  the  whole  of  the  impeach 
ment  trial,  when  the  temptation  to  appeal  from  his 
enemies  to  the  "plain  people"  on  whose  final  judg 
ment  he  relied  must  have  been  almost  overpowering, 
he  refrained  altogether  from  public  speaking.  His 
habit  of  bandying  words  with  the  mob  was  overcome. 
The  legislators  came  back  to  the  second  half  of  the 
Thirty  -  ninth  Congress  elated  over  their  victory  at 
the  polls,  and  convinced  that  it  was  in  their  power  to 

112 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

carry  their  whole  reconstruction  programme.  There 
was  the  greatest  dissatisfaction  expressed  with  the 
constitutions  of  the  Southern  States,  now  largely 
reorganized.  The  new  governments  had  passed  re 
pressive  measures  against  the  negroes.  The  Aboli 
tionists  considered  that  these  measures  virtually 
re-enslaved  the  emancipated. 

An  incident  which  the  Radicals  seized  upon  as  an 
evidence  of  the  absolute  failure  of  the  President's 
reconstruction  policy  was  an  unfortunate  riot  over 
elections  in  New  Orleans.  He  was  accused  of  not 
having  responded  to  the  call  of  the  governor  for 
Federal  aid.  Again  the  President  explained  that  the 
telegram  of  the  governor  had  been  withheld  from 
him  by  Secretary  Stanton.  And  again  the  country 
heard  the  charge,  and  not  the  refutation.  And  again 
it  is  hard  to  understand  Secretary  Stanton's  action 
in  this  matter. 

The  activities  of  Congress  of  the  winter  and  spring 
of  1866-67  were  in  two  directions.  A  series  of  acts 
embodying  the  congressional  theories  of  reconstruction 
was  passed  and  a  long  investigation  of  the  President's 
conduct  was  undertaken  with  a  view  to  discovering 
grounds  for  impeachment.  The  first  was  tragic,  cul 
minating  as  it  did  in  negro  suffrage,  the  disfranchise- 
ment  of  the  majority  of  the  better  class  of  Southerners, 
the  dominion  of  carpet-baggers,  terror  and  suffering 
for  eleven  States.  The  second  was  pure  comedy,  ex 
hibiting  the  congressional  species  in  farcical  special 
ties.  In  their  reconstruction  acts  Congress  worsted  the 
President,  depriving  him  of  control  over  the  eleven 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Southern  States,  over  the  army,  and  at  last,  by  the 
Tenure  of  Office  Act,  over  his  own  cabinet.  In  their 
attempts  to  prove  him  worthy  of  impeachment,  the 
President's  record  worsted  Congress.  Even  the  two 
Houses,  full  of  enemies,  could  find  no  blot  in  it. 

As  fast  as  the  reconstruction  measures  were  passed, 
Mr.  Johnson  executed  them.  He  held,  with  the  Con 
stitution,  that  his  control  over  legislation  ended  with 
his  veto.  With  relation  to  the  matter  of  negro  suf 
frage,  Mr.  Johnson's  attitude  was  fully  expressed  in 
an  interview  which  had  taken  place  the  year  before. 
A  deputation  of  leading  negroes, 'headed  by  Frederick 
Douglass,  called  upon  the  President  to  plead  for  their 
right  to  the  suffrage.  Mr.  Johnson's  manner  to  them 
was  quiet,  even  gentle.  It  was  interesting  to  see  how 
deftly  he  prevented  the  interview  from  becoming  a 
discussion  and  utilized  it  to  state  his  own  position. 
He  suggested  emigration  to  them.  He  asserted  that 
each  community  was  better  prepared  to  settle  ques 
tions  of  suffrage  than  was  Congress.  He  said  that 
he  opposed  negro  suffrage  on  the  ground  that,  carried 
out,  it  would  inevitably  lead  to  a  race  war.  He 
ended,  "God  knows  I  have  no  desire  but  the  welfare 
of  the  whole  human  race." 

With  regard  to  the  impeachment  investigation, 
there  had  been,  since  the  President's  veto  of  the  first 
Freedmen's  Bureau  Act,  a  continual  rumble  of  threats 
of  impeachment  in  both  houses  of  Congress.  At  last, 
in  January,  1867,  Mr.  Ashley,  of  Ohio,  one  of  Mr. 
Johnson's  most  bitter  enemies,  introduced  a  resolu 
tion  to  investigate  the  course  of  the  President  with 

114 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

a  view  to  impeachment.  The  Judiciary  Committee 
was  empowered  to  conduct  the  investigation,  to  sum 
mon  witnesses,  and  to  sit  during  the  summer  recess 
if  necessary. 

Throughout  the  investigation  the  President  was 
calm  and  untroubled.  When  a  bank  employee  went 
with  embarrassment  to  inform  him  that  his  accounts 
were  demanded,  he  laughed. 

"Let  them  have  them,  if  they  want  them.  All  of 
my  business  affairs  are  open  to  the  world.  I  have 
nothing  to  be  ashamed  of." 

It  must  not  be  considered  that  either  the  proceed 
ings  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  or  the  severity  of 
congressional  reconstruction  was  approved  by  the 
country  at  large.  Mr.  Ashley's  virulence  was  so  great 
that  he  had  been  reproved  by  the  Speaker  of  the 
House.  Many  Radical  newspapers  throughout  the 
nation  disapproved  of  the  measures  passed  by  Con 
gress.  Even  Senator  Wilson,  Charles  Sumner's  col 
league  from  Massachusetts,  who  had  been  most 
vehement  in  his  pleadings  for  the  "poor,  lowly, 
downtrodden  freedmen,"  said  of  the  white  men  on 
his  return  from  a  tour  of  the  Southern  States: 

"For  myself,  I  want  no  more  punishments  than 
have  already  been  inflicted  on  these  men.  They  have 
suffered  and  have  been  disappointed  more  than  any 
body  of  men  in  the  history  of  the  world." 

It  seems  hard  to  understand  the  hysteria  which 
swept  over  both  houses  of  Congress  during  these 
abnormal  years.  It  has  been  very  generally  stated 
that  the  opposition  aroused  by  the  President's  stub- 

"5 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

born  resistance  to  congressional  control  was  respon 
sible  for  it,  that  each  antagonist  pushed  the  other 
into  extremes.  In  one  case  this  is  undoubtedly  true. 
The  measures  passed  by  Congress  at  the  end  of  the 
struggle  could  not  have  been  possible  at  the  beginning. 
It  was  not  that  they  were  new,  but  that  the  Presi 
dent's  action  had  aroused  so  much  opposition  that 
the  element  which  had  advocated  these  measures 
from  the  beginning  came  into  control.  The  signifi 
cant  fact  is  that,  while,  on  the  part  of  the  President, 
the  contest  goaded  him  into  unwise  public  utterances, 
his  policy  was  not  altered  by  the  bitterness  of  his  feel 
ing  in  one  particular.  The  principles  expressed  in  the 
first  message,  so  generally  applauded  by  the  country 
at  the  time,  were  the  same  that  dictated  the  last  pro 
test  to  Congress  when  he  had  failed  to  prevent  the 
intemperate  legislation  that  had  disgraced  it.  The 
fault,  if  it  were  a  fault,  lay  not  in  his  having  been 
hurried  into  inconsidered  action,  but  in  his  not  hav 
ing  compromised,  at  the  beginning  of  the  controversy, 
where  he  might  have  done  so,  with  a  yielding  of 
theory,  but  not  of  practical  kindliness,  toward  the 
South. 

The  long-brewing  contention  with  Secretary  Stan- 
ton  came  to  a  head  during  the  summer  of  1867.  Mr. 
Stanton's  career  in  Mr.  Johnson's  cabinet  had  been 
a  curious  one.  It  was  generally  known  that,  during 
Mr.  Lincoln's  administration,  Mr.  Stanton  had  fre 
quently  assumed  that  he  alone  was  responsible  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Government.  Mr.  Lincoln, 
who  knew  how  to  utilize  every  element  that  was  pre- 

116 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

sented  to  him,  and  was  entirely  without  personal  feel 
ing,  had  very  little  difficulty  in  managing  Stanton. 
He  knew  how  to  make  use  of  his  Secretary's  undoubt 
ed  patriotism,  his  force,  his  earnestness ;  he  knew  how 
to  harness  his  unruly  temper.  Lincoln  was  impervi 
ous  to  offence  because  of  his  humorous  acceptance  of 
conditions. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  not  skilful  in  managing  men- 
men  whom  he  could  not  influence.  From  the  first 
Mr.  Stanton  was  an  element  of  discord.  A  number 
of  the  Radicals  had  influenced  him  to  introduce  a 
negro-suffrage  clause  into  the  first  reconstruction 
measures  discussed  by  the  cabinet.  His  natural  harsh 
ness  of  nature  led  him  to  desire  a  severe  policy  toward 
the  South.  And  yet,  when  it  became  apparent  that 
the  President  and  three  members  of  the  cabinet  were 
in  favor  of  carrying  out  the  policy  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  he 
apparently  acquiesced.  At  all  events,  he  remained  in 
the  cabinet,  while  the  other  members  who  were  in  op 
position  resigned.  Each  of  the  President's  messages, 
each  of  the  vetoes,  Stanton  apparently  approved.  He 
was  so  strong  in  pronouncing  the  Tenure  of  Office 
Act  unconstitutional  that  he  was  asked  to  write  the 
message  accompanying  the  veto.  He  pleaded  some 
indisposition,  however,  and  avoided  doing  it. 

The  constant  friction  over  the  administration  of 
the  War  Department  became  unbearable.  Two  in 
stances  have  been  already  given  where  Mr.  Stanton 
had  withheld  information  from  the  President  which 
he  should  have  had — the  note  for  mercy  in  the  case 
of  Mrs.  Surratt  and  the  telegram  of  the  Governor 

117 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

of  New  Orleans  asking  for  Federal  aid.  In  both  of 
these  cases  Mr.  Johnson's  position  before  the  country 
had  been  very  much  injured  by  the  Secretary's  action. 
What  was  left  to  the  President  of  executive  powers 
over  the  Southern  States  was  nullified  by  Mr.  Stan- 
ton's  disposition  to  balk  him  at  every  turn.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Stanton  was  sincere  in  his 
idea  that  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
country  from  disintegration,  that  he  remain  in  Mr. 
Johnson's  cabinet.  This  delusion,  fostered  by  years 
of  autocratic  power  over  his  own  department,  was 
responsible  for  the  lack  of  taste  in  Mr.  Stanton's 
remaining  in  the  cabinet  of  a  man  whose  enemy  he 
was.  It  is  another  example  of  the  lack  of  balance 
in  the  public  life  of  the  period. 

The  President  had  borne  this  irritating  defiance  with 
what  was,  in  a  man  of  his  type,  remarkable  patience. 

In  August,  1867,  the  President  suspended  Secre 
tary  Stanton  from  office,  appointing  General ,  Grant 
in  his  place.  It  was  during  the  recess  of  Congress. 
Under  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act  he  had  the  right  to 
suspend  a  member  of  his  cabinet  during  the  recess  of 
Congress,  so  he  was  strictly  within  his  rights.  The 
contest  would  come  later,  when  the  removal  was  re 
ported  to  Congress  for  approval.  Mr.  Stanton  had 
no  course  but  to  yield,  and  General  Grant  performed 
the  duties  of  the  office.  Up  to  this  point  there  had 
been,  on  the  whole,  pleasant  relations  between  Mr. 
Johnson  and  General  Grant.  Grant  was  the  popular 
idol;  his  friendship  was  an  important  item. 

It  was  in  the  same  summer  that  the  President  and 

118 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

I  were  on  our  way  home  one  evening  in  what  is  now 
Rock  Creek  Park.  A  summer  storm  came  up,  and  it 
began  to  rain  in  torrents.  We  were  well  outside  the 
limits  of  the  present  city  when  we  came  upon  a  poor 
woman  struggling  along  the  road.  She  had  a  heavy 
baby  in  her  arms,  and  her  shabby  clothes  were  already 
soaked  through  with  the  rain.  Mr.  Johnson  ordered 
the  driver  to  stop  and  take  her  in.  She  climbed  up, 
trying  not  to  soil  the  cushions  with  her  dripping 
clothes.  The  President  sat  opposite  her,  when  the 
carriage  was  rolling  on  again,  saying  nothing,  as  was 
his  habit,  but  looking  at  the  mother  and  baby  with 
very  kind  eyes.  She  lived  on  what  is  now  Florida 
Avenue — which  we  then  called  Boundary  Street,  be 
tween  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Streets.  When  we 
stopped  opposite  her  little  two-story  frame  house, 
Mr.  Johnson  got  out  and  helped  her  out  and  up  the 
steps.  She  never  knew  that  it  was  the  President  who 
had  taken  her  home.  When  we  got  back  to  the 
White  House,  Mr.  Johnson  told  Slade,  the  steward, 
to  give  the  driver  a  hot  toddy.  He  had  been  sitting 
on  the  box  through  all  the  storm,  and  did  not  have 
his  oilskins  to  protect  him.  Mr.  Johnson,  although 
he  never  seemed  to  be  taking  much  notice  of  what 
was  going  on  about  him,  always  saw  things  like  that. 
Congress  convened  on  September  i,  1867.  Every 
one  awaited  its  action  with  a  good  deal  of  excitement, 
for  it  was  generally  understood  that  when  the  Presi 
dent  submitted  the  question  of  the  removal  of  Secre 
tary  Stanton  from  the  War  Department  the  final 
struggle  between  Congress  and  Mr.  Johnson  would 

119 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

begin.  It  was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  Presi 
dent's  action  would  not  be  endorsed.  It  was,  with 
those  of  us  who  knew  the  President,  equally  certain 
that  he  would  persist  in  his  determination  not  to  al 
low  Mr.  Stanton  to  remain  in  his  cabinet.  Of  course 
my  sympathies  were  with  Mr.  Johnson.  Even  if  I 
had  not  felt  that  Mr.  Stanton  was  a  harsh  and  ar 
rogant  man,  I  could  not  have  failed  to  see  how  he  had 
thwarted  the  President  at  every  turn.  One  surely 
did  not  have  to  know  about  constitutional  questions 
to  understand  that  a  president  should  be  surrounded 
by  a  cabinet  whose  members  are  in  sympathy  with 
him,  and  that  if  one  member  consistently  opposes  him 
and  all  the  other  members,  and  refuses  to  resign,  the 
President  should  have  the  right  to  dismiss  him. 

At  this  time  particularly,  when,  since  the  Southern 
States  had  been  again  placed  under  military  govern 
ors,  the  retention  of  Mr.  Stanton  as  Secretary  of  War 
meant  that  Mr.  Johnson  could  not  have  the  slight 
est  control  over  the  administration  of  the  unfortunate 
eleven  States,  it  was  necessary  to  remove  Mr.  Stan- 
ton.  The  President  naturally  desired  to  do  the  little 
that  was  left  in  his  power  to  make  their  condition  more 
bearable. 

Within  the  time  prescribed  by  the  Tenure  of  Office 
Act,  the  President  reported  the  removal  of  Secretary 
Stanton,  with  his  reasons.  On  the  i4th  of  January 
Congress  refused  to  acquiesce,  and  ordered  his  restora 
tion  to  office.  At  this  point  General  Grant  yielded 
his  portfolio  of .  office  to  Secretary  Stanton  and  re 
tired  from  the  position.  General  Grant's  action  made 

120 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

of  President  Johnson  a  bitter  enemy.  Together  with 
Stanton  he  became  the  object  of  the  President's 
hatred.  In  fact,  General  Grant  seemed  to  stand,  in 
Mr.  Johnson's  eyes,  as  the  type  of  all  the  opposition 
the  President  had  undergone.  It  is  useless  to  discuss 
whether  General  Grant  was  right  or  wrong.  He  acted 
as  he  thought  right.  He  was  a  modest  man,  and  it 
was  distasteful  to  him  to  seem  to  usurp  a  position 
claimed  by  another  man.  I  believe  that  he  was  honest 
ly  convinced  that,  until  the  constitutionality  of  the 
removal  of  Secretary  Stanton  was  decided,  his  was 
the  proper  course.  But  to  President  Johnson,  Gen 
eral  Grant's  action  was  that  of  a  traitor. 

One  week  after  the  action  of  Congress  the  Presi 
dent  removed  Mr.  Stanton  and  appointed  General 
Lorenzo  Thomas  in  his  place.  Trie  struggle  between 
Stanton  and  Thomas  had  a  humorous  side.  General 
Thomas  made  a  daily  visit  to  the  War  Department 
to  demand  possession  of  the  office  and  the  records, 
and  Secretary  Stanton  as  regularly  refused  to  yield 
his  position.  In  order  to  prevent  a  night  attack 
upon  his  fortress,  Stanton  had  a  bed  in  his  private 
office. 

On  the  2ist  General  Thomas  called  and  made  his 
demand.  There  was  parleying,  but  Secretary  Stan- 
ton  reserved  his  decision.  On  the  22d,  early  in  the 
morning,  by  the  orders  of  Secretary  Stanton,  General 
Thomas  was  arrested.  He  was  taken  to  the  station- 
house,  but  was  immediately  released  on  bail.  This 
was  done  with  the  intention  of  having  a  court  verdict 
on  the  matter.  General  Thomas  then  repaired  to  the 
9  121 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

office  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  made  his  second 
demand.  Mr.  Stanton  refused  to  yield,  and  General 
Thomas  refused  to  depart. 

Immediately  after  this  the  Secretary  of  War  ad 
interim  was  tried  and  released.  He  continued  to 
attend  cabinet  meetings  and  to  make  demands  upon 
the  Secretary  of  War.  He  became  generally  known 
as  "Ad  Interim  Thomas." 

On  the  third  day  after  the  removal  of  Secretary 
Stanton  the  House  of  Representatives  decided  that 
"the  President  be  impeached"  before  the  Senate  "for 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors." 

The  managers  of  the  prosecution  were  John  A. 
Bingham,  George  S.  Boutwell,  James  F.  Wilson, 
Thomas  Williams,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  John  A.  Logan, 
and  Thaddeus  Stevens.  The  most  bitter  against  the 
President  were  Butler,  Stevens,  and  Wilson.  Butler 
opened  the  prosecution.  There  were  eleven  articles 
of  impeachment,  but  the  only  actual  charge — that 
of  having  disregarded  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act  in  the 
removal  of  Stanton — was  contained  in  the  eleventh. 

All  over  the  country  men  wished  to  take  a  part  in 
choosing  the  President's  counsel.  Suggestions  poured 
in,  and  people  flocked  to  the  White  House,  each  one 
with  a  candidate  to  put  forward.  Country  lawyers 
sent  in  briefs,  with  the  very  evident  hope  that  they 
might  be  chosen.  Others,  not  so  modest,  directly 
offered  their  services.  However  much  difference  of 
opinion  there  might  be  as  to  other  men,  the  country 
was  virtually  unanimous  in  putting  forward  the  claim 
of  Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  who  needed  no  advocacy,  for 

122 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

the  President  appointed  him  immediately.  The  other 
members  of  the  counsel  were  William  M.  Evarts, 
Thomas  A.  R.  Nelson,  and  Judge  Jeremiah  S.  Black. 
Judge  Black  had  hardly  agreed  to  undertake  the  case 
before  he  resigned.  This  occasioned  a  great  deal  of 
discussion.  It  was  said  that  Judge  Black  had  given 
up  the  case  because  of  its  hopelessness,  and  this  gossip 
injured  Mr.  Johnson's  cause.  That  the  President  did 
not  announce  the  real  reason  was  to  his  credit. 

The  true  story  of  the  transaction  is  this:  Judge 
Black  was  one  of  the  attorneys  for  the  Vela  Alta  claim. 
Vela  Alta  was  an  island  near  San  Domingo  which  was 
rich  in  guano.  The  President  was  asked  to  interfere 
in  the  contest  as  to  its  possession  by  pronouncing  it 
the  property  of  a  United  States  company.  Whether 
the  contention  was  a  just  one  or  not  it  is,  of  course, 
impossible  to  discuss  here.  Secretary  Seward  was 
opposed  to  United  States  interference.  But  the  un 
fortunate  thing  was  that  just  at  this  time  Judge  Black 
pressed  the  case,  sending  in  as  endorsers  four  out  of 
the  seven  managers  of  the  case  against  the  President, 
Mr.  Butler  among  them.  The  inference  that  Mr. 
Johnson's  consent  to  act  as  these  gentlemen  desired 
might  possibly  influence  their  attitude  toward  the 
President  is  an  obvious  one.  It  was  obvious  enough 
to  cause  Mr.  Johnson  to  refuse  to  interfere.  There 
upon  Judge  Black  promptly  resigned  from  the  counsel, 
feeling,  in  all  probability,  that  his  participation  in  the 
trial  would  prevent  success  of  the  private  enterprise. 
William  S.  Groesbeck  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

Another  matter  for  debate  was  whether  Senator 

123 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Wade,  who  was  acting-President  of  the  Senate  since 
Mr.  Johnson  had  become  President,  should  have  a 
vote.  In  the  event  of  the  President's  being  convicted 
of  the  charge  against  him,  Mr.  Wade  would  of  course 
become  President.  It  would  seem  hardly  decorous 
for  him  to  cast  a  vote;  but  it  was  decided,  after  much 
discussion,  that  his  vote  should  count.  Mr.  Wade 
was  jubilant.  In  fact,  it  was  stated  that  he  had  already 
selected  his  cabinet.  I  happened  to  be  present  when 
Mr.  Johnson  was  told  this.  He  chuckled,  and  said: 

"Old  Wade  is  counting  his  chickens  before  they 
are  hatched." 

The  formal  opening  of  the  trial  was  on  the  i3th  of 
March.  The  President's  counsel  asked  for  forty  days 
in  which  to  prepare  the  arguments.  They  were  rather 
ungraciously  refused,  and  were  allowed  ten  days  in 
stead.  The  court  then  adjourned  until  the  23d. 

During  this  preliminary  time  and  during  the  trial, 
the  spiritualists  all  over  the  country  tried  to  gain  a 
proselyte  by  playing  upon  the  President's  natural 
anxiety  as  to  the  outcome.  A  Mrs.  Colby  sent  him 
marvellous  messages  from  Lincoln  and  other  states 
men.  The  messages  were,  like  most  of  their  kind, 
illiterate,  impudent,  and  absurd.  The  "Davenport 
Brothers  "  also  tried  to  gain  his  interest.  It  was  even 
reported  that  President  Johnson  was  a  spiritualist. 
Although  he  was  a  member  of  no  church,  the  Presi 
dent  was  as  definite  in  his  orthodox  religious  views 
as  he  was  in  his  political  policy.  There  was  nothing 
of  the  mystic  in  his  nature,  and  he  was  too  clear 
sighted  for  mere  superstition. 

124 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

On  the  23d  of  March,  when  the  actual  trial  began, 
the  President  took  leave  of  three  of  his  counsel — 
Mr.  Evarts,  Mr.  Curtis,  and  Mr.  Nelson — who  had 
come  to  the  White  House  for  a  final  discussion.  I 
was  near  them  as  they  stood  together  in  the  portico. 
Mr.  Johnson's  manner  was  entirely  calm  and  uncon 
cerned.  He  shook  hands  with  each  of  them  in  turn, 
and  said: 

" Gentlemen,  my  case  is  in  your  hands;  I  feel  sure 
that  you  will  protect  my  interests."  Then  he  re 
turned  to  his  office.  I  went  off  with  the  gentlemen. 
By  the  desire  of  the  President,  I  accompanied  them 
to  the  Capitol  every  day. 

When,  from  my  seat  in  the  gallery,  I  looked  down 
on  the  Senate  chamber,  I  had  a  moment  of  almost 
terror.  It  was  not  because  of  the  great  assemblage; 
it  was  rather  in  the  thought  that  one  could  feel  in 
the  rnind  of  every  man  and  woman  there  that  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  a  Presi 
dent  was  on  trial  for  more  than  his  life — his  place 
in  the  judgment  of  his  countrymen  and  of  history. 

There  was  a  painful  silence  when  the  counsel  for 
the  President  filed  in  and  took  their  places.  They 
were  seated  under  the  desk  of  the  presiding  officer — 
in  this  case,  Chief -Just  ice  Chase — on  the  right-hand 
side  of  the  Senate  chamber.  The  managers  for  the 
prosecution  were  already  in  their  seats.  Every  seat 
in  the  gallery  was  occupied. 

The  dignity  with  which  the  proceedings  opened 
served  to  heighten  the  sense  of  awe.  It  persevered 
during  the  routine  business  of  reading  the  journal 

125 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

and  while  the  President's  reply  was  being  read;  but 
when  Manager  Butler  arose  to  make  the  opening 
address  for  the  prosecution,  there  was  a  change. 

His  speech  was  a  violent  attack  upon  the  President. 
It  was  clever  Actually  blameless  incidents  were 
made  to  seem  traitorous.  The  address  was  so  bitter, 
and  yet  so  almost  theatrical,  that  it  seemed  unreal. 
I  wondered  at  the  time  why  it  so  impressed  me.  In 
Butler's  later  action — to  which  I  shall  hereafter  refer 
—came  a  possible  explanation  of  this  impression. 

The  trial  lasted  three  weeks.  The  President,  of 
course,  never  appeared.  In  that  particular  the  pro 
ceedings  lacked  a  spectacular  interest  they  might 
have  had.  Every  day  the  President  had  a  consulta 
tion  with  his  lawyers.  For  the  rest,  he  attended  to 
the  routine  work  of  his  position.  He  was  absolutely 
calm  through  it  all.  The  very  night  of  the  23d  he 
gave  a  reception  to  as  many  of  the  members  of  Con 
gress  as  would  come.  I  was  fully  prepared  to  have 
the  White  House  deserted,  but,  instead  of  that,  it 
was  crowded.  I  wondered  why  men  who  hated  the 
President  so  bitterly  could  accept  his  hospitality  until 
I  came  to  a  group  of  about  fifteen  Radicals  gathered 
together  in  the  East  Room,  where  they  had  proceeded 
after  paying  their  respects  to  the  President.  They 
were  laughing  together,  and  teasing  one  another  like 
boys. 

"What  are  you  here  for?"  I  heard. 

"And  you — what  are  you  doing  here  yourself?" 

"Why,  I  wanted  to  see  how  Andy  takes  it,"  was 
the  answer.  I  thought  to  myself  as  I  passed  them 

126 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

that  they  were  getting  small  satisfaction  out  of  that, 
for  no  one  could  have  seen  the  slightest  difference 
in  Mr.  Johnson's  manner.  He  greeted  every  one  as 
pleasantly  as  though  it  were  a  surprise  party  come 
to  congratulate  him  on  his  statesmanship. 

It  was  the  same  with  the  affairs  of  his  personal  life. 
If  he  had  any  doubt  as  to  the  outcome  of  the  trial, 
he  did  not  allow  it  to  affect  his  interest  in  those  who 
had  any  claim  on  him.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
excitement  following  the  impeachment  that  Slade, 
the  steward,  fell  ill.  Slade  was  a  mulatto,  a  very  in 
telligent  man,  and  the  President  had  a  great  deal 
of  confidence  in  him.  I  remember  very  well  when, 
on  the  2d  of  March,  I  went  with  Mr.  Johnson  to  see 
Slade  in  his  home. 

The  poor  fellow  was  suffering  when  we  entered. 
He  had  asthma,  and  it  was  pitiful  to  hear  him  strug 
gle  for  breath.  Mr.  Johnson  went  up  to  the  bed,  and 
took  the  sick  man's  hand  in  his. 

"How  are  you  to-day,  Slade?"  he  asked,  kindly, 
and  when  the  dying  man  shook  his  head,  the  Presi 
dent  tried  to  cheer  him  up. 

Slade 's  death  followed  soon.  It  is  easy  to  under 
stand  how  hard  it  was  for  Mr.  Johnson  to  spare  the 
time  just  then,  but  he  went  to  the  funeral.  I  was 
there  with  him.  The  family  of  the  dead  man  were 
greatly  pleased  because  the  President  honored  them, 
and  the  daughter  thanked  him  touchingly. 

As  the  trial  proceeded,  the  conviction  grew  with 
me — I  think  it  did  with  every  one — that  the  weight 
of  evidence  and  of  constitutional  principle  lay  with 

127 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  defence.  There  were  several  clever  lawyers  on 
the  prosecution,  and  Butler  had  his  legal  precedents 
skilfully  marshalled,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  pro 
ceedings  showed  personal  feeling  and  prejudice  rather 
than  proof.  Every  appeal  that  could  be  made  to  the 
passions  of  the  time  was  utilized.  "Warren  Hast 
ings,"  "Charles  I."  "Irresponsible  tyranny,"  were 
always  on  the  lips  of  the  prosecution. 

In  comparison,  the  calm,  ordered,  masterly  reason 
ing  of  the  defence  must  have  inspired  every  one  with 
a  conviction  of  the  truth  of  their  cause.  Their  efforts 
were  of  varying  ability  and  character,  of  course.  The 
minds  of  these  men  were  as  diverse  as  their  faces. 
Mr.  Nelson  was  a  short,  stout  man  with  a  ruddy  face. 
Mr.  Evarts,  who  was  then  laying  the  foundation  for 
his  future  unquestioned  eminence,  was  an  active, 
thin  man.  Mr.  Groesbeck,  who  was  ill  during  the 
trial,  and  was  forced  to  have  his  clerk  read  his  argu 
ment,  had,  with  appropriateness,  considering  his 
name,  a  prominent,  curved  nose.  Mr.  Nelson's  ad 
dress  was  the  most  emotional  of  them  all.  His  appeal 
was  largely  for  sympathy,  for  admiration  of  the  man 
Andrew  Johnson;  it  was  personal.  Mr.  Groesbeck 
was  the  surprise  of  the  trial.  He  had  been  able  to 
take  very  little  part  in  the  proceedings,  but  his  argu 
ment  was  remarkably  fine.  Mr.  Evarts 's  address  was 
clearly  reasoned.  Mr.  Curt  is 's  argument,  in  my  opin 
ion,  was  the  finest  of  them  all. 

But  the  legal  struggle,  after  all,  with  that  assem 
blage  of  violent  passions  was  hardly  the  contest  that 
counted.  The  debate  was  for  the  benefit  of  the 

128 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

country  at  large;  while  the  legal  lights  argued,  the 
enemies  of  the  President  were  working  in  other  ways. 
The  Senate  was  thoroughly  canvassed,  personal  ar 
gument  and  influence  were  in  constant  use.  Every 
personal  motive,  good  or  bad,  was  played  upon. 
Long  before  the  final  ballot,  it  became  known  how 
most  of  the  men  would  probably  vote.  Toward  the 
end  the  douotful  ones  had  narrowed  down  to  one 
man — Senator  Ross,  of  Kansas.  Kansas,  which  had 
been  the  fighting-ground  of  rebel  guerilla  and  Northern 
abolitionist,  was  to  have,  in  all  probability,  the  de 
termining  vote  in  this  contest. 

Kansas  was,  from  inception  and  history,  abolition 
ist,  radical.  It  would  have  been  supposed  that 
Senator  Ross  would  vote  with  the  Radicals.  He 
had  taken  the  place  of  James  H.  Lane,  who  had  shot 
himself.  Lane  was  a  friend  of  the  President,  and, 
had  he  lived,  in  all  probability  would  have  supported 
him.  But  Ross  had  no  such  motive.  It  became 
known  that  he  was  doubtful;  it  was  charged  that  he 
had  been  subject  to  personal  influence — feminine 
influence. 

Then  the  cohorts  of  the  Senate  and  the  House  bore 
down  upon  the  Senator  from  Kansas.  Party  disci 
pline  was  brought  to  bear,  and  then  ridicule.  Either 
from  uncertainty,  or  policy,  or  a  desire  to  keep  his 
associates  in  uncertainty,  Ross  refused  to  make  an 
announcement  of  his  policy.  In  all  probability  he 
was  honestly  trying  to  convince  himself. 

The  last  days  before  the  test  vote  was  to  be  taken 
were  breathless  ones.  The  country  was  paralyzed. 

129 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Business  in  the  departments  was  almost  at  a  stand 
still.  Still,  the  President  was  the  calmest  man  in 
the  country,  with  interest  to  spare  from  his  own 
affairs  for  those  of  other  men.  On  the  i4th  he  was 
visited  by  an  enthusiast,  Sergeant  Bates,  who  had 
taken  the  Federal  flag  on  a  tour  through  the  South 
to  see  whether  he  could  prove  that  the  South  was 
loyal,  and  had  walked  to  Washington  from  Vicksburg. 
The  President  gave  him  an  interview.  The  man's 
enterprise  evidently  appealed  to  him.  With  a  good 
deal  of  feeling  and  a  clasp  of  his  hand,  he  said,  when 
Bates  entered: 

"I  just  want  to  welcome  you  to  Washington." 

Bates  wanted  to  wave  the  flag  from  the  top  of  the 
Capitol,  but  Congress  refused.  The  President  gave 
him  permission  to  take  the  Stars  and  Stripes  to  the 
top  of  the  unfinished  Monument.  At  the  last,  Mr. 
Johnson  put  a  purse  into  his  hand,  for  all  of  Bates's 
expenses  had  been  defrayed  by  the  Southern  cities 
through  which  he  had  passed. 

On  May  isth,  a  rainy,  dismal  day,  the  Lincoln 
Monument  in  front  of  the  city  hall  was  dedicated. 
Either  the  anxiety  of  Congress  to  have  the  impeach 
ment  over,  or,  more  probably,  a  desire  to  show  con 
tempt  for  Andrew  Johnson,  who  was  to  preside, 
caused  both  Houses  to  refuse  to  adjourn  to  honor  the 
memory  of  the  dead  President.  I  accompanied  Mr. 
Johnson  and  saw  the  exercises,  which  were  finished 
without  the  recognition  of  our  legislators. 

On  May  i6th  the  vote  was  taken. 

Every  one  who  by  any  possible  means  could  get 

130 


THE    IMPEACHMENT 

a  ticket  of  admission  to  the  Senate  chamber  produced 
it  early  that  morning  at  the  Capitol.  The  floor  and 
galleries  were  crowded. 

The  journal  was  read ;  the  House  of  Representatives 
was  notified  that  the  Senate,  "sitting  for  the  trial  of 
the  President  upon  the  articles  of  impeachment,"  was 
ready  to  receive  the  other  House  in  the  Senate  cham 
ber.  The  question  of  voting  first  upon  the  eleventh 
article  was  decided. 

While  the  clerk  was  reading  the  legal  statement  of 
those  crimes  of  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  the  President  was  guilty,  some 
people  fidgeted  and  some  sat  with  their  hands  tensely 
clasped  together.  At  the  end,  the  Chief- Justice  di 
rected  that  the  roll  be  called.  The  clerk  called  out: 

"Mr.  Anthony."     Mr.  Anthony  rose. 

"Mr.  Anthony" — the  Chief- Justice  fastened  his 
eyes  upon  the  Senator — "how  say  you?  Is  the 
respondent,  Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United 
States,  guilty  or  not  guilty  of  a  high  misdemeanor  as 
charged  in  this  article?" 

"Guilty,"  answered  Mr.  Anthony. 

A  sigh  went  round  the  assemblage.  Yet  Mr. 
Anthony's  vote  was  not  in  doubt.  A  two-thirds  vote 
of  thirty-six  to  eighteen  was  necessary  to  convict. 
Thirty-four  of  the  Senators  were  pledged  to  vote 
against  the  President.  Mr.  Fowler,  of  Tennessee,  it 
was  known,  would  probably  vote  for  acquittal,  al 
though  there  was  some  doubt.  Senator  Ross  was  the 
sphinx;  no  one  knew  his  position. 

The  same  form  was  maintained  with  each  Senator 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

in  turn.  When  Fowler's  name  was  reached,  every 
one  leaned  forward  to  catch  the  word. 

"Not  guilty,"  said  Senator  Fowler. 

The  tension  grew.  There  was  a  weary  number  of 
names  before  that  of  Ross  was  reached.  When  the 
clerk  called  it,  and  Ross  stood  forth,  the  crowd  held 
its  breath. 

"Not  guilty,"  called  the  Senator  from  Kansas. 

It  was  like  the  babbling  over  of  a  caldron.  The 
Radical  Senators,  who  had  been  laboring  with  Ross 
only  a  short  time  before,  turned  to  him  in  rage;  all 
over  the  house  people  began  to  stir.  The  rest  of  the 
roll-call  was  listened  to  with  lessened  interest,  al 
though  there  was  still  the  chance  for  a  surprise. 
When  it  was  over,  and  the  result — thirty-five  to 
nineteen — was  announced,  there  was  a  wild  outburst, 
chiefly  groans  of  anger  and  disappointment,  for  the 
friends  of  the  President  were  in  the  minority.1 

1  I  find  in  my  diary  mention  of  a  dream  that  I  had  on  the  night 
of  the  s6th  of  March.  I  thought  that  the  vote  on  the  impeach 
ment  had  been  taken  and  that  the  numbers  were  thirty-five  for 
the  prosecution  to  fifteen  for  the  defence,  with  four  absent.  It  is 
odd  to  notice  that  it  was  almost  the  actual  vote.  With  the  four 
who  in  my  dream  were  absent  added  to  the  fifteen,  it  would  have 
been  the  exact  division  of  votes.  I  suppose  it  meant  that  I  had 
been  canvassing  the  probable  disposition  of  the  votes,  and  had 
repeated  my  guessing  in  my  dream. 


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VIII 

AFTER   THE    IMPEACHMENT 

I  DID  not  wait  to  hear  it,  for,  barely  waiting  for 
the  verdict  to  be  read — it  was  no  surprise  to  me,  as 
I  had  been  keeping  tally  on  a  slip  of  paper — I  ran 
down-stairs  at  the  top  of  my  speed.  In  the  corridor 
of  the  Senate  I  came  across  a  curious  group.  In  it 
was  Thad  Stevens,  who  was  a  helpless  cripple,  with 
his  two  attendants  carrying  him  high  on  their  shoul 
ders.  All  about  the  crowd,  unable  to  get  into  the 
court-room,  was  calling  out:  "What  was  the  ver 
dict?"  Thad  Stevens's  face  was  black  with  rage  and 
disappointment.  He  brandished  his  arms  in  the  air, 
and  shouted  in  answer: 

"The  country  is  going  to  the  devil!" 

I  ran  all  the  way  from  the  Capitol  to  the  White 
House.  I  was  young  and  strong  in  those  days,  and 
I  made  good  time.  When  I  burst  into  the  library, 
where  the  President  sat  with  Secretary  Welles  and 
two  other  men  whom  I  cannot  remember,  they  were 
quietly  talking.  Mr.  Johnson  was  seated  at  a  little 
table  on  which  luncheon  had  been  spread  in  the 
rounding  southern  end  of  the  room.  There  were  no 
signs  of  excitement. 

i33 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

"Mr.  President,"  I  shouted,  too  crazy  with  delight 
to  restrain  myself,  "you  are  acquitted!" 

All  rose.  I  made  my  way  to  the  President  and 
got  hold  of  his  hand.  The  other  men  surrounded 
him,  and  began  to  shake  his  hand.  The  President 
responded  to  their  congratulations  calmly  enough 
for  a  moment,  and  then  I  saw  that  tears  were  rolling 
down  his  face.  I  stared  at  him;  and  yet  I  felt  I 
ought  to  turn  my  eyes  away. 

It  was  all  over  in  a  moment,  and  Mr.  Johnson  was 
ordering  some  whiskey  from  the  cellar.  When  it 
came,  he  himself  poured  it  into  glasses  for  us,  and  we 
all  stood  up  and  drank  a  silent  toast.  There  were 
some  sandwiches  on  the  table ;  we  ate  some,  and  then 
we  felt  better.  In  a  few  minutes  came  a  message  of 
congratulation  from  Secretary  Seward  to  "my  deaf 
friend."  By  that  time  the  room  was  full  of  people, 
and  I  slipped  away. 

Now  I  want  to  tell  a  very  curious  thing,  which  I 
did  not  understand  at  the  time,  and  still  can  explain 
only  by  conjecture. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  trial,  while  Ben  Butler 
was  still  apparently  the  President's  bitterest  enemy, 
and  was  making  fierce  attacks  on  him  in  the  Senate 
chamber,  many  messages  passed  between  the  Presi 
dent  and  him  of  which  nothing  was  known  to  any  one 
but  themselves  and  me.  I  was  the  messenger,  and 
the  letters  were  always  sent  at  night.  Mr.  Johnson 
would  call  me  to  him  and  say: 

"Crook,  here  is  a  letter  for  General  Butler.  I 
wish  you  would  take  it  to  him  and  wait  for  an  an- 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

swer."  Although  I  can  remember  no  positive  di 
rection  from  the  President,  my  recollection  is  that 
these  messages  were  not  to  be  talked  about.  Some 
times  the  President  would  say: 

"There  is  no  answer." 

General  Butler  lived  on  I  Street,  near  Fifteenth. 
It  was  a  short  walk  from  the  White  House  to  his 
home.  When  I  rang  the  bell,  the  butler  answered  it. 
He  was  a  curious  old  chap,  cross-eyed  like  his  master. 
When  there  was  an  answer,  I  always  gave  it  into  the 
President's  own  hands.  He  always  tore  up  the 
notes;  I  saw  him  do  it. 

It  used  to  puzzle  me  a  good  deal.  Why  should  Mr. 
Johnson  and  a  man  who  was  pleading  so  bitterly  a 
case  against  him  have  this  correspondence?  Why 
should  President  Johnson,  who  always  kept  every 
scrap  of  correspondence,  even  his  bills,  tear  up  these 
notes  ? 

Another  thing:  Not  long  after  the  trial  was  over, 
it  began  to  be  a  matter  of  comment  that  Ben  Butler 
had  become  a  friend  of  the  President.  Mrs.  Ann  S. 
Stephens,  a  popular  novelist  of  the  day,  who  knew  the 
President  well,  laughed  about  Mr.  Johnson's  "sudden 
and  ardent  friend  General  Butler."  I  don't  pretend 
to  explain  these  things,  but  questions  will  suggest 
themselves. 

Was  General  Butler  sincere  when  he  denounced  the 
President  so  fiercely,  or  did  he  think  that  the  side  of 
the  Radicals  was  the  popular  one  ?  Since  he  changed 
front  so  completely,  as  there  is  evidence  that  he  did, 
at  what  time  did  he  change,  and  what  was  his  mo- 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

tive?  Is  it  possible  that  he  felt  that  impeachment 
was  going  to  fail  and  thought  that  it  would  be  well 
to  make  friends  with  the  winner  ? 

After  the  excitement  of  the  trial  was  over,  we 
settled  down  into  what  seemed  like  quiet,  although 
there  were  always  things  enough  happening.  Among 
others,  it  was  discovered  that  William  P.  Wood,  who 
was  chief  of  the  Secret  Service  in  the  Treasury,  had 
offered  $10,000  to  N.  M.  Young,  who  had  been  Jeffer 
son  Davis 's  private  secretary,  for  any  letters  he 
might  furnish  showing  complicity  between  President 
Johnson  and  Davis. 

Although  the  verdict  had  been  with  the  President, 
the  nation  was  by  no  means  convinced.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  almost  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  had 
voted  to  impeach  him.  The  Radical  leaders  were 
unremitting  in  their  opposition.  In  a  speech  de 
livered  on  the  yth  of  July,  1868,  Thad  Stevens,  after 
having  stated  that  he  had  decided  it  was  impossible 
to  remove  an  executive  by  peaceful  means,  said  that 
the  only  recourse  from  tyranny  would  be  "  Brutus 's 
dagger." 

In  spite  of  his  outward  stoicism,  the  long  strain  of 
his  position  was  beginning  to  tell  on  the  President. 
He  had  had  for  three  years  a  continued  struggle, 
almost  alone,  to  maintain  his  position.  He  was 
strong,  but  he  felt  his  isolation.  I  believe  the  nearest 
approach  to  discouragement  in  Andrew  Johnson's 
life  came  immediately  after  the  verdict  was  rendered 
which  acquitted  him.  Even  he  had  not  the  slightest 
hope  of  re-election,  and  re-election  alone  could  mean 

136 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

full  vindication.  A  telegram  which  he  sent  to  a 
friend  who  had  written  to  him  with  encouragement 
shows  plainly  his  depression: 

The  will  of  the  people,  if  truly  reflected,  would  not  be 
doubtful.  I  have  experienced  ingratitude  so  often  that  any 
result  will  not  surprise  me.  I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for 
the  part  you  have  taken  in  my  behalf;  it  is  appreciated  the 
higher  because  unsolicited.  You  have  no  doubt  read  in  the 
morning  paper  Stevens's  articles  of  impeachment,  together 
with  his  speech  thereon,  in  which  he  states:  "The  block 
must  be  brought  out  and  the  axe  sharpened:  the  only  re 
course  from  intolerable  tyranny  is  Brutus's  dagger,"  which 
he  hopes  may  not  be  used.  How  is  it  possible  for  me  to 
maintain  my  position  against  a  vindictive  and  powerful 
majority,  if  abandoned  by  those  who  profess  to  agree  with 
me  and  be  supporters  of  the  administration?  Such  an 
abandonment  at  this 'moment,  when  the  heaviest  assaults 
are  being  made,  would  seem  an  admission  that  the  adminis 
tration  was  wrong  in  its  opposition  to  the  series  of  despotic 
measures  which  have  been  and  are  being  proposed  to  be 
forced  upon  the  country. 

Mr.  Stevens  did  not  live  long  to  fight  for  the  cause 
which,  in  his  own  fierce  way,  he  was  convinced  was 
the  righteous  one.  He  died  in  Washington  two  weeks 
after  Congress  adjourned.  Mr.  Johnson  lived  to  fight 
longer. 

As  the  summer  burned  itself  out  to  autumn,  the 
President  remained  in  the  country  a  longer  time  on 
our  daily  drives.  Except  when  the  children  were  with 
us,  he  was  more  sombre  than  ever.  One  afternoon 
when  we  were  at  the  Soldiers'  Home  he  strolled  into 
a  little  vine-covered  summer-house  which  stood  at 
the  summit  of  a  gentle  slope.  I  entered  and  stood 
with  him.  Below  us  lay,  line  upon  line,  almost  as 

10  137 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

far  in  both  directions  as  our  eyes  could  reach,  plain 
little  white  tombstones  marking  the  graves  of  the 
Federal  soldiers.  We  were  both  silent.  At  last  the 
President  said,  under  his  breath: 

"It's  a  city,  Crook — a  city  of  the  dead." 

That  afternoon,  when  we  were  almost  home,  Mr. 
Johnson  said  to  me,  suddenly: 

"Everybody  misunderstands  me,  Crook.  I  am 
not  trying  to  introduce  anything  new.  I  am  only 
trying  to  carry  out  the  measures  toward  the  South 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  have  done  had  he  lived." 

The  last  autumn  that  he  was  in  the  White  House, 
Mr.  Johnson  secured  my  appointment  as  a  third-class 
clerk,  detailed  to  the  Executive,  Office.  I  received 
the  notification  on  the  2ist  of  November,  1869.  From 
this  time  promotion  would  depend  wholly  upon  my 
own  efficiency  and  faithfulness.  My  family  thought 
that  a  great  deal  had  been  gained  with  that  third- 
class  clerkship.  My  case  was  a  type  of  the  Presi 
dent's  attitude  toward  his  subordinates:  he  always 
looked  out  for  their  interests.  I  went  to  him  and 
thanked  him  for  his  efforts  in  my  behalf.  He  said  he 
was  glad  I  had  the  place. 

Somehow  I  had  expected  that  there  would  be  a 
change  in  Mr.  Johnson's  position  after  his  victory 
over  the  Radicals.  If  I  had  thought  of  it,  I  might 
have  realized  that  the  two-thirds  majority  was  still 
against  him.  The  only  difference  was  that  when 
they  passed  measures  over  the  President's  veto  it 
was  without  debate.  There  was  no  longer  need  for 
discussion.  It  does  seem  unfortunate  that  none  of 

138 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

them  took  the  trouble  to  read  his  message  protesting 
against  the  reconstruction  measures.  To  me  it 
seemed  fine. 

There  was  one  difficulty,  growing  out  of  the  divi 
sion  between  the  President  and  Congress,  which  I 
believe  no  other  chief  executive  has  ever  had  to  con 
tend  against.  It  was  virtually  impossible  for  Mr. 
Johnson  to  have  his  appointments  to  office  confirmed, 
unless  the  men  happened  to  be  in  high  favor  with 
Congress.  It  was  a  peculiarly  irritating  situation. 
The  President,  however,  robbed  it  of  its  most  humil 
iating  features  by  the  frankness  with  which  he  ac 
cepted  it.  He  announced  that  he  could  not  recom 
mend  any  man  for  position  who  could  not  place  on 
file,  together  with  the  usual  credentials,  proofs  that 
he  could  command  enough  votes  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  Senate.  One  of  the  President's  self-appointed 
advisers  was  in  a  great  state  of  indignation  over  this. 

"You  ought  not  to  make  such  a  statement,"  he 
said.  "It  is  an  indignity  for  the  President  of  the 
United  States." 

In  answer  Mr.  Johnson  smiled  slightly.  He  was  one 
of  the  men  who  see  nothing  humiliating  in  looking  a 
situation  in  the  face.  He  was  practical  about  this,  as 
about  everything  else.  Since  senatorial  pledges  must 
be  had  to  secure  the  confirmation  of  appointments, 
he  would  give  the  men  he  wished  to  appoint  an  op 
portunity  to  secure  the  names.  Therefore,  part  of  the 
regular  office  routine  was  the  consideration  of  the 
number  of  Senators  whom  a  would  -  be  collector  or 
postmaster  could  marshal  to  his  support. 

i39 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Mr.  Ross,  of  Kansas,  the  Senator  whose  vote  had 
saved  the  President  from  impeachment,  was  at  the 
White  House  a  good  deal  during  the  last  months  of 
Mr.  Johnson's  administration.  I  knew  Mr.  Ross  well. 
He  was  a  well-looking  man  of  medium  height,  slightly 
stooped.  He  always  wore  a  frock-coat.  He  was  con 
cerned  over  some  appointments  in  Kansas  which  he 
considered  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  his  party. 
It  was  natural  that  he  should  expect  help  from  the 
man  he  had  saved,  and  for  whom  he  was  suffering. 
For  no  one  to-day  can  understand  the  effect  in  Kansas 
of  Senator  Ross's  action.  It  was  hardly  safe  for  any 
one  to  speak  in  favor  of  him  or  of  the  President.  One 
lady,  whom  I  still  know,  was  in  Lawrence,  Kansas,  at 
the  time.  Her  husband  happened  to  be  in  Washing 
ton  on  business  during  the  whole  period.  This  gentle 
man  was  in  favor  of  Johnson,  and  therefore  approved 
of  Senator  Ross's  vote.  His  wife  did  not  dare  let 
any  of  her  friends  and  neighbors  know  of  the  opinions 
of  the  family. 

The  President  could  do  little  to  help  Mr.  Ross. 
The  Senator  had  to  rely,  like  overy  one  else,  upon 
what  congressional  support  ho  could  muster,  and  he 
was  naturally  in  bad  odor  in  both  Houses.  As  it  hap 
pened,  nothing  could  have  saved  Ross's  political  posi 
tion  in  Kansas.  I  have  been  told  that  when  he  went 
home  old  neighbors  would  not  speak  to  him.  He 
found  life  in  Kansas  impossible.  When  he  had  en 
tered  the  Senate  he  apparently  had  a  great  career 
before  him.  He  was  now  made  Governor  of  New 
Mexico.  I  believe  he  afterward  published  a  news- 

140 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

paper  in  Texas.  But  so  far  as  I  can  understand,  his 
life  never  fulfilled  all  it  had  seemed  to  promise.  His 
vote  for  Andrew  Johnson  marked  the  end  of  his 
national  career. 

As  Mr.  Johnson's  administration  wore  to  its  close, 
the  daily  mail  brought  to  light  many  contrasting  sides 
of  human  nature.  A  few  men  wrote  to  him,  assur 
ing  him  of  their  approval.  Amos  Kendall,  the  ex- 
Postmaster-General,  who  gave  the  land  for  Gallaudet 
College,  the  institution  for  the  education  of  deaf- 
mutes  in  Washington,  was  one  of  these,  as  was 
"Sunset"  Cox.  A  fine  address  of  the  latter,  in  which 
he  said  that  Mr.  Johnson's  career  was  an  example  of 
"moral  courage  against  party  discipline,"  was  for 
warded  to  the  President,  and  I  pasted  it  in  the  scrap- 
book. 

An  echo  of  tragic  things  was  the  request  made 
by  Booth's  noble  brother,  Edwin  Booth,  for  the  pos 
session  of  the  body  of  the  murderer,  lying  all  this  time 
in  an  unmarked  grave  at  the  Arsenal.  He  asked 
with  no  spirit  of  bitterness,  but  with  the  deepest  sad 
ness,  for  permission  to  remove  the  body  of  the  "poor 
misguided  boy."  The  request  was  granted,  and  the 
family  buried  the  body  again. 

A  great  many  men  made  suggestions  for  the  Presi 
dent's  future  guidance.  Soon  after  General  Grant 
was  elected,  one  correspondent  had  the  happy  thought 
that  if  Mr.  Johnson  would  only  refuse  to  accept  Gen 
eral  Grant's  resignation  from  the  army,  it  would  then 
be  impossible  for  the  coming  President  to  be  inau 
gurated,  and  Mr.  Johnson  would  have  things  all  his 

141 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

own  way !  Another  guileless  being  sent  a  supposedly 
counterfeit  bill  by  means  of  which  he  was  convinced 
a  gang  of  outlaws  were  endeavoring  to  seduce  his 
honesty.  He  was  willing  to  furnish  further  proof 
for  the  sum  of  $10,000.  This  communication  was 
labelled  a  "confidence  game,"  and  the  dollar  was  ap 
propriated  for  charitable  purposes.  At  intervals  ama 
teur  detectives  furnished  information  as  to  meetings 
of  conspirators  with  schemes  inimical  to  the  Presi 
dent. 

But  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  letters  were  per 
sonal  appeals  for  help.  Helpless  citizens  of  the  South 
ern  States,  men  and  women,  pleaded  with  their 
champion  for  aid.  One  woman,  the  last  of  a  great 
line,  begged  the  President  to  save  her  from  being  de 
spoiled  of  the  land  on  which  her  family  had  lived  for 
generations.  A  widow,  who  said  that  he  had  before 
this  furnished  her  transportation  out  of  his  own 
pocket,  asked  for  further  assistance.  An  old  journey 
man  tailor  who  had  once  worked  for  Mr.  Johnson 
sought  for  help,  with  an  evident  confidence  that  it 
would  be  granted :  part  of  both  feet  had  been  carried 
off  by  a  shell,  and  he  wanted  ten  or  fifteen  dollars  to 
take  him  back  to  his  friends. 

Simple  pleas  of  this  nature  the  President  could  and 
did  answer ;  but  to  the  great  cry  for  help  that  went  up 
from  the  whole  South  he  was  able  to  give  only  slight 
response.  His  hope  had  been,  as  he  often  told  me, 
to  " build  up"  the  South.  The  accounts  of  riots,  of 
violence,  the  insolence  of  negro  agitators,  like  Hunni- 
cutt,  of  Richmond,  the  wholesale  pilfering  of  the  land 

142 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

by  carpet-baggers,  were  agonizing  to  those  of  us  who 
had  lived  among  the  Southern  people  and  knew  what 
they  were  suffering.  The  only  power  that  was  left 
to  the  President  was  the  appointment  and  removal 
of  the  military  governors.  In  some  cases  Mr.  John 
son  answered  the  cry  for  justice  by  removing  the  men 
who  seemed  to  the  people  of  several  States  responsible 
for  the  condition  of  affairs.  It  was,  of  course,  the 
system  of  reconstruction  that  was  to  answer,  not  the 
governors;  but  the  appointment  of  new  men  gave 
the  sufferers  a  gleam  of  hope. 

It  is  not  wonderful  that,  with  all  these  things  to 
harass  him,  the  President  had  to  turn  somewhere  for 
recreation.  It  was  to  the  children  he  went.  It  is  a 
pleasing  thought  that  Andrew  Johnson  celebrated  his 
sixtieth  birthday,  in  the  closing  months  of  the  bit 
terest  struggle  ever  waged  from  the  White  House, 
with  a  great  holiday  party  for  children. 

It  was  on  the  3oth  of  December,  and  there  were 
almost  four  hundred  children  present.  Almost  as 
many  households  had  been  in  a  state  of  excitement 
since  the  arrival  of  the  truly  magnificent  cards  of  in 
vitation.  "The  President  of  the  United  States"  it 
was  who  desired  their  presence;  no  mere  child  was 
the  host!  Every  child  whose  father  had  any  share 
in  the  public  life  of  the  time  and  was  not  the  Presi 
dent's  bitter  enemy,  was  there.  All  of  Marini's  dan 
cing  academy  were  invited,  for  there  was  to  be  won 
derful  fancy  dancing  in  the  great  East  Room.  In 
the  years  that  I  had  been  at  the  White  House — and 
almost  every  White  House  family  has  had  its  petted 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

children — there  has  never  been  a  children's  party  so 
wonderful. 

Mr.  Johnson  received,  with  Mrs.  Patterson  and  his 
grandchildren  about  him,  and  Mrs.  Johnson  came 
down-stairs  for  a  glimpse  of  the  pretty  scene.  This 
was,  unless  I  am  mistaken,  the  second  appearance  she 
made  during  her  White  House  life. 

The  dancing  was  in  the  East  Room.  There  were 
a  great  many  square  dances,  and  a  few  waltzes  and 
polkas ;  but  the  fancy  dances  were  the  best.  Marini's 
picked  pupils  showed  their  prettiest  steps.  There 
was  the  "Highland  fling"  of  course,  and  the  "sailors' 
hornpipe."  There  was  a  Spanish  dance,  danced  by 
small  Miss  Gaburri  in  a  Spanish  dress  flashing  with 
sequins.  Then  there  was  a  very  sentimental  affair — 
which  all  the  children  liked  best  because  there  was  a 
"story"  in  it  where  one  little  girl  postured  with 
every  evidence  of  languishing  devotion,  and  another 
little  girl  circled  coquettishly  and  tantalizingly  around 
her.  Pretty  Belle  Patterson  danced  prettily,  but  the 
stars  were  the  Spanish  dancer  and  little  Miss  Keen, 
who  were  particular  friends  of  the  Patterson  and 
Stover  children.  At  the  end,  the  whole  company, 
tots  and  big  girls  and  boys,  were  lined  up  for  the 
"Virginia  reel."  After  that  came  " refreshments  "- 
the  real  "party,"  most  of  the  children  thought. 

After  his  frolic  with  the  children,  there  was  little 
that  was  not  unpleasant  before  the  President.  Early 
in  1869  Hugh  McCulloch  resigned  his  position  as 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  There  was  a  large  clique 
which  was  violently  opposed  to  McCulloch.  He  was 

144 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

suspected  of  Southern  sympathies — his  home  was  in 
Maryland.  There  had  been  constant  attacks  upon 
him  and  endless  appeals  to  the  President  to  remove 
him.  But  Johnson  was  loyal  to  the  man  who,  with 
Secretary  Welles  and  Secretary  Seward,  had  been 
faithful  to  him  through  the  whole  of  his  troubled 
administration.  He  sustained  McCulloch,  as  he  sus 
tained  his  own  reconstruction  policy.  I  do  not  under 
stand  the  secret  of  the  opposition  to  McCulloch.  He 
was  an  absolutely  honest  man;  perhaps  that  is  the 
reason  he  had  so  many  enemies. 

During  the  last  two  months  Mr.  Johnson  sat  at  the 
White  House  waiting  for  the  man  whom  he  hated  to 
take  his  place.  Whatever  personal  resentment  he 
may  have  had  against  his  enemies  was  swallowed  up 
at  this  time,  I  am  convinced,  by  his  sympathy  for  the 
struggling  masses  in  the  South.  He  has  told  me  how 
he  felt  for  them  and  talked  of  his  own  frustrated 
plans.  His  hatred  of  the  Southern  leaders — the 
"brigadiers" — was  for  the  moment  lost  sight  of, 
though  it  was  by  no  means  assuaged.  He  was  calm, 
however,  and,  as  usual,  there  was  nothing  in  his 
manner  to  reveal  his  feeling.  I  could  not  trace  a 
single  line  in  his  face  to  testify  to  his  four  years' 
fight.  He  went  about  his  preparations  for  departure 
in  his  orderly,  methodical  fashion.  All  his  bills  were 
called  for  and  settled  long  before  he  left  the  White 
House.  The  steamship  companies  evidently  thought 
he  would  be  in  need  of  rest  and  recreation,  for  they 
vied  with  one  another  in  offering  him  free  transporta 
tion  to  any  European  port  he  might  desire  to  visit, 

MS 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

He  might  well  have  wished  to  accept  their  offer,  for 
he  stood  high  in  the  opinion  of  European  nations, 
and  his  trip  would  have  been  an  ovation.  But  flight 
was  not  in  his  mind. 

While  the  President  was  so  unmoved,  the  rest  of 
us  were  beginning  to  understand  what  it  was  that 
Congress  had  been  doing.  Whether  public  opinion 
had  begun  to  change  to  any  marked  degree  I  cannot 
state,  but  the  last  public  reception  that  Mr.  Johnson 
gave  was  marked  by  a  good  deal  of  enthusiasm.  Still, 
he  was  with  the  mass  of  people  a  very  unpopular 
man. 

During  all  the  long  contest,  as  far  as  I  know,  neither 
Thad  Stevens  nor  Charles  Sumner  ever  came  to  the 
White  House.  No  one  would  have  expected  Stevens 
to  do  it;  he  was  too  bitter,  too  passionate.  But  with 
most  people  Sumner  stood  for  calm  and  unprejudiced 
principle.  One  would  have  thought  that  he,  at  least, 
would  have  endeavored  to  have  a  consultation  with 
the  President,  to  have  found  out  just  where  he  stood, 
and  why  he  believed  as  he  did,  before  making  him  a 
target  for  daily  denunciation.  Of  course,  it  is  pos 
sible  that  there  may  have  been  interviews  of  which 
I  knew  nothing,  but  I  do  not  think  it  likely. 

Perhaps  I  was  prejudiced  against  Sumner,  know 
ing  how  he  had  opposed  President  Lincoln,  and  hav 
ing  seen  how  Mr.  Lincoln  felt  toward  him.  In  my 
opinion,  Sumner  made  most  of  the  trouble.  Stevens 
did  not  have  much  weight.  Every  one  knew  that  he 
was  prejudiced  and  fierce,  and  they  made  allowances 
for  that.  But  Sumner  gave  the  impression  of  calm. 

146 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

He  was  a  gentleman,  he  had  correct  manners,  he  was 
well-groomed,  he  had  learning.     To  a  large  element  v 
in  the  country  he  was  a  sort  of  god.     Of  course  there    \_ 
were  a  few  men  who,  like  some  one  in  the  New  York     r~j 
Herald,    called   him   a  monomaniac  on  the   subject V 
of  the  negro;   and  he  did  irritate  the  other  members 
of  his  party  by  delaying  legislation  while  he  quibbled 
as  to  whether  negroes  should  be  so  far  distinguished 
from  other  men  as  to  be  called  " negroes" — he  him 
self  referring  to  them  as  " unionists." 

It  was  to  the  party  of  Sumner  and  Stevens  that 
Andrew  Johnson  yielded  on  the  4th  of  March,  1869, 
when,  a  little  before  noon,  he  left  the  White  House, 
and  it  was  to  a  man  by  whom  he  considered  that  he 
had  been  betrayed.  Mr.  Johnson  had  refused  to 
ride  in  the  carriage  with  President  Grant,  as  has 
always  been  the  custom  for  the  outgoing  President. 
I  have  heard  it  said  that  General  Grant  refused  to 
ride  with  him.  I  do  not  know  whether  that  is  true 
or  not;  it  does  not  seem  like  President  Grant,  who 
was  kindliness  itself.  But  I  do  know  that  Mr.  John 
son  refused  to  ride  with  the  new  President.  I  heard 
him  say  that  he  would  not  do  it. 

So  Mr.  Johnson  remained  quietly  in  the  White 
House  while  the  inauguration  ceremonies  were  in 
progress,  gathering  up  his  papers  and  making  final 
preparations.  He  took  away  with  him  all  the  records 
of  the  office  and  the  scrap-books  which  I  had  com 
piled.  He  said: 

"I  found  nothing  here  when  I  came,  and  I  am 
going  to  leave  nothing  here  when  I  go." 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

When  he  left  all  the  employees  of  the  White  House 
gathered  on  the  portico  to  say  good-bye  to  him.  No 
one  else  was  there.  His  friends  and  enemies  alike  had 
flocked  to  see  the  installation  of  the  new  President. 
The  family  had  preceded  him.  With  all  the  others, 
I  shook  his  hand,  and  said: 

"Good-bye,  Mr.  President." 

"Good-bye,  Crook,"  he  said.  "And  God  bless 
you!" 

He  went  down  to  the  carriage  which  was  waiting 
to  take  him  to  the  home  of  Mr.  John  F.  Coyle,  who 
was  one  of  the  two  owners  and  editors  of  the  National 
Intelligencer,  one  of  the  papers  which  had  constantly 
supported  the  administration.  Coyle  was  a  brilliant 
man  and  a  warm  friend;  he  was  perhaps  the  best 
friend  whom  the  President  had  in  Washington,  and 
Mr.  Johnson  was  very  fond  of  him  and  of  his  family. 
Some  one  once  laughingly  asked  him  when  he  was 
going  to  "shake  off  this  mortal  Coyle?"  He  had  no 
desire  to  shake  him  off.  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  good 
friend. 

Somehow,  when  Andrew  Johnson  left  the  White 
House  I  did  not  feel  that  that  was  the  end  of  him. 
Yet,  in  a  nation  where  the  retiring  executive  is  usual 
ly  the  only  man  in  the  country  without  a  future,  there 
apparently  never  was  so  dead  a  President.  During 
the  few  days  he  spent  with  Mr.  Coyle  he  was  almost 
deserted.  He  had  realized  long  before  the  end  that 
his  election  to  the  Presidency,  which  was  the  only 
thing  that  would  have  meant  vindication,  was  an 

148 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

impossibility.  But  he  was  too  vital  a  man  to  stop 
fighting. 

Therefore,  I  followed  with  eagerness  his  career  dur 
ing  the  years  that  followed.  Every  one  knows  that 
when  he  returned  to  Tennessee  he  found  himself  hope 
lessly  unpopular.  Brownlow  had  seen  to  that.  It 
did  not  seem  to  daunt  Mr.  Johnson  in  the  least.  He 
went  to  work  to  win  back  lost  ground.  Soon  after  his 
return  to  Greenville  there  was  a  United  States  Sena 
tor  to  be  chosen.  He  sought  the  position.  He  was 
defeated  in  that.  It  was  too  soon.  Again  he  went 
patiently  to  work.  The  same  method  of  personal 
talk  with  the  "plain  people"  which  had  brought  him 
to  the  front  before  served  him  now.  Little  by  little 
he  regained  his  ascendancy  over  his  State.  In  1872 
he  was  announced  as  candidate  for  Congressman  at 
Large  from  his  State.  He  conducted  a  campaign  of 
public  speaking,  and  again  he  was  defeated,  but  by 
a  smaller  margin.  When,  in  1875,  ^e  came  forward 
to  claim  the  United  States  senatorship,  he  was  vic 
torious.  That  was  not  a  bad  record  for  a  man  who, 
at  sixty,  had  retired  from  the  White  House  unpopular 
and  discredited. 

It  was  not  seven  years  after  he  had  been  on  trial 
before  the  Senate  that  Andrew  Johnson  took  his  place 
as  a  member  of  the  body  that  had  judged  him.  Public 
opinion  had  travelled  a  farther  journey  than  the 
years  had  done,  for  his  entrance  was  the  scene  of  a 
great  demonstration.  It  was  the  opening  day  of  the 
special  session  of  1875.  The  Senate  chamber  and  the 
galleries  were  crowded.  His  desk  was  piled  high 

149 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

with  flowers.  Possibly  some  of  the  children  to  whom 
he  used  to  give  nosegays  from  the  White  House  con 
servatories  were  old  enough  to  remember  and  to  re 
turn  the  gifts  in  kind.  Senator  Wilson,  of  Massa 
chusetts,  then  Vice- President,  was,  as  President  of 
the  Senate,  to  administer  the  oath.  As  Charles  Sum- 
ner's  colleague,  he  had  been  Johnson's  persistent 
enemy. 

There  were  three  new  Senators  to  be  sworn  in,  one 
of  them  Hannibal  Hamlin.  As  Andrew  Johnson's 
rival  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  he  also  had  been  an 
opponent.  He  took  the  oath  before  Johnson;  but 
the  name  of  the  ex- President  was  called  before  Hamlin 
had  gone  to  his  seat. 

The  square,  sturdy  figure  of  Andrew  Johnson  ad 
vanced  to  the  desk.  The  three  men  stood  together 
before  the  multitude,  who  had  only  one  thought: 
"How  would  he  meet  these  men  who  had  been  his 
enemies?  Would  he  take  their  hands?" 

There  was  no  pause,  although  to  us  who  were  look 
ing  on  there  seemed  to  be.  Johnson  put  out  his 
hand  without  hesitation  or  embarrassment,  without 
apparent  realization  that  there  was  anything  unusual 
in  the  situation.  He  shook  hands  first  with  Hamlin, 
then,  turning,  with  Wilson,  who  stood  before  them 
both.  From  floor  and  galleries  went  up  a  thunder 
of  applause.  Both  Wilson  and  Hamlin  were  tall 
men,  and  Andrew  Johnson  was  short,  but  to  every 
one  present  there  was  no  taller  man  in  the  Senate 
that  day. 

The  oath  taken,  he  went  into  the  cloak-room  to 

150 


AFTER    THE    IMPEACHMENT 

avoid  publicity.  But  there  he  was  surrounded  by 
Senators,  every  man  eager  to  take  his  hand. 

There  was  one  man  of  those  whom  he  considered 
his  enemies  whom  Mr.  Johnson  had  not  forgiven.  It 
was  only  a  day  or  two  after  he  took  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  that  he  sent  for  me  to  come  to  his  hotel,  the 
old  Willard,  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  I  found  him, 
on  a  nearer  view,  looking  very  little  changed.  He 
was  older,  of  course ;  there  was  more  gray  in  his  hair ; 
his  whole  face  looked  bleached.  He  seemed  finer  to 
me;  not  less  strong,  but  more  delicate.  There  were 
no  more  lines  in  his  face:  those  that  had  been  there 
were  deeper  graven;  that  was  all. 

I  asked  for  all  the  family,  and  he  told  me  what 
there  was  to  tell.  Mrs.  Johnson,  I  knew,  was  still  liv 
ing,  but  poor  Robert  Johnson  had  died  soon  after 
his  father  returned  to  Tennessee.  He  spoke  to  me 
of  them  both.  The  grandchildren  were  growing  up. 
He  told  me  of  his  fight  for  election. 

"And  now,"  he  said,  "I  want  you  to  tell  me  where 
I  can  find  notices  about  Grant  in  my  scrap-books. 
You  remember  where  you  pasted  them  in.  I  don't." 
He  got  the  scrap-books,  and  I  put  slips  of  paper  in 
to  mark  the  references  he  wanted.  As  I  rose  to  go 
he  said: 

"Crook,  I  have  come  back  to  the  Senate  with  two 
purposes.  One  is  to  do  what  I  can  to  punish  the 
Southern  brigadiers.  They  led  the  South  into  se 
cession,  and  they  have  never  had  their  deserts.  The 
other—  He  paused,  and  his  face  darkened. 

"What  is  the  other,  Mr.  Johnson?"  I  asked. 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

"The  other  is  to  make  a  speech  against  Grant. 
And  I  am  going  to  make  it  this  session." 

He  made  the  speech  in  less  than  two  weeks  from 
that  evening.  It  was  a  clever  one,  too,  and  bitter. 
Every  point  of  General  Grant's  career  which  might 
be  considered  vulnerable  was  very  skilfully  attacked. 
The  fact  that  he  had  taken  gifts  and  that  it  was  sus 
pected  he  desired  a  third  term  were  played  upon. 
Yes;  Mr.  Johnson  did  what  he  had  intended  to  do, 
and  had  been  intending  to  do  ever  since  he  left  the 
White  House.  He  was  the  best  hater  I  ever  knew. 

He  went  back  home  at  the  end  of  the  session,  and 
then  to  visit  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Stover,  in  eastern 
Tennessee.  There,  given  up  to  the  family  associa 
tions  he  clung  to,  and  with  the  grandchildren  he  loved, 
he  was  stricken  suddenly  with  paralysis,  and  July  31, 
1875,  he  died.  It  seemed  as  if,  with  his  speech  against 
President  Grant,  some  spring  of  action  which  had 
kept  him  fighting  broke.  The  rest  was  peace. 


IX 

WHITE   HOUSE   UNDER   U.    S.    GRANT 

A  STATE  of  panic  existed  about  the  White  House 
during  the  early  months  of  President  Grant's 
occupancy.  Andrew  Johnson  and  the  new  President 
had  been  such  bitter  enemies  that  we  all  fully  ex 
pected  to  lose  our  positions.  Our  happiness  was  not 
increased  by  the  brooms  with  which  a  thoughtful 
public  flooded  the  Executive  Mansion.  These  were 
addressed  to  the  President  and  bore  the  legend : 

Make  a  clean  sweep! 

It  was  probably  a  very  humorous  idea,  but  unap 
preciated  by  us.  We  eyed  the  wretched  things  vin 
dictively. 

We  found  very  soon  that,  in  fearing,  we  had  under 
stood  neither  General  Grant  nor  the  men  with  whom 
he  had  surrounded  himself.  As  far  as  I  know  only 
two  men  were  removed  from  the  White  House  force. 
These  were  clerks  who  had  been  making  themselves 
conspicuous  for  months  with  their  personal  abuse  of 
General  Grant.  Mr.  Robert  Lincoln  wrote  to  Gen 
eral  Dent,  the  President's  brother-in-law,  in  my  behalf: 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL, — I  am  requested  by  Mr.  William  H. 
Crook  to  write  a  note  to  you  on  the  subject  of  his  being  re- 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

tained  as  a  clerk  in  the  Executive  Office,  where  he  now  is. 
This  I  do  with  great  pleasure,  and  T  can  assure  you  that  you 
will  find  him  a  man  who  will  do  well  what  is  given  him  to  do. 
I  am  well  acquainted  with  him,  as  he  was  in  the  White 
House  during  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  my  residence  in 
Washington,  and  I  shall  be  very  glad  if  he  receives  your 
favorable  attention. 

Very  truly  yours, 

ROBERT  T.  LINCOLN. 

I  think,  however,  that  my  retention  was  due  quite 
as  much  to  the  general  fairness  of  the  President  and 
his  secretaries  as  to  outside  efforts.  As  soon  as  the 
office  was  organized  I  was  made  General  Dent's 
assistant  in  the  reception  -  room.  For  months  after 
the  inauguration  efforts  were  made  to  get  the  position 
away  from  me.  The  most  persistent  applicant  was 
a  West  Point  classmate  of  General  Dent's.  Not 
being  able  to  get  an  interview  with  the  President, 
the  man  one  day  wrote  on  his  card: 

If  I  can  prove  that  he  is  not  a  Republican,  will  General 
Dent  give  me  his  place? 

I  did  not  know  at  this  time  what  it  was  about,  but 
I  did  when  I  heard  General  Dent's  verbal  answer:  "I 
do  not  know  anything  about  Mr.  Crook's  politics;  I 
know  that  he  suits  me.  That  is  enough."  And  Gen 
eral  Dent  tore  up  the  card  and  threw  it  into  the 
waste-paper  basket. 

The  organization  of  a  reception-room  was  prac 
tically  a  new  idea.  General  Dent,  sitting  at  his  desk, 
acted  as  a  guard  on  General  Grant's  time.  No  one 
was  allowed  to  enter  the  office  unless  the  reception- 


ULYSSES      S.     GRANT 

From  the  original  negative  taken  from  life  by  Brady  in  1864,  now  in  the 
private  collection  of  Frederick  H.  Meserve,  New  York  City. 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

room  was  convinced  that  his  mission  was  worthy  of 
the  President's  attention.  Formerly  all  this  work 
had  been  done  by  the  secretaries,  who  were  conse 
quently  much  interrupted  in  their  work. 

In  many  other  ways  the  administration  of  the  office 
was  simplified  and  at  the  same  time  made  more 
efficient.  There  were  not  as  many  records  kept  as 
under  Mr.  Johnson.  While  Mr.  Robert  Douglas,  the 
son  of  Stephen  Douglas,  was  nominally  the  secretary, 
three  officers  who  had  served  on  General  Grant's 
staff — General  Dent,  General  Babcock,  and  General 
Porter — were  detailed  from  the  army  and  did  most  of 
the  work.  This  fact  placed  Mr.  Douglas,  as  I  have 
heard  him  say,  "in  a  most  unpleasant  position." 
Robert  Douglas  since  then  has  proved  that  this  was 
due  to  no  lack  of  ability  on  his  part.  After  a  success 
ful  career  in  North  Carolina  as  United  States  Mar 
shal,  he  has  for  years  served  the  State  as  Supreme 
Court  Judge.  The  assistant  private  secretary  was  Mr. 
Levi  P.  Luckey,  a  warm  friend  of  Minister  Wash- 
burne  and  of  General  Babcock.  General  Adam 
Badeau,  who  had  acted  as  General  Grant's  secretary 
during  war-time,  had  an  unofficial  connection  with 
the  White  House.  He  was  at  work  on  General 
Grant's  military  history,  and  had  been  assigned  a 
room  and  a  clerk  to  assist  him  in  arranging  papers. 

There  was  something  about  the  President's  office 
at  this  time  which,  to  my  way  of  thinking,  suggested 
a  military  council.  It  was  not  that  there  were  any 
of  the  trappings  of  war,  for,  of  course,  all  three  of  the 
officer-secretaries  wore  civilian  dress;  nor  was  it  in 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

any  special  ceremoniousness  of  manner,  for  they 
were  men  of  simplicity  and  geniality.  It  was 
rather  in  the  fine,  soldierly  presence  of  the  men, 
as  well  as  in  a  sort  of  military  exactness  which  per 
vaded  the  routine  business.  Both  General  Porter 
and  General  Babcock  were  handsome  men,  with 
commanding,  erect  carriage.  General  Babcock  was 
not  as  tall  as  the  other,  but  he  looked  every  inch  a 
soldier.  General  Badeau  was  not  as  impressive  in 
appearance,  although  he  was  a  clever  man,  and  knew 
how  to  tell  a  good  story.  But  I  never  had  much  con 
fidence  in  the  things  he  wrote.  I  believe  there  was 
some  difficulty  later  on  about  his  military  history  of 
Grant.  I  know  personally  of  serious  misstatements 
as  to  other  subjects  for  which  he  was  responsible. 
He  always  impressed  me  as  being  entirely  self-seeking. 
It  was  plain  to  every  one  in  the  office  that  the 
President  had  the  warmest  friendship  for  both  Porter 
and  Babcock.  Porter  was  one  of  the  few  men  who 
could  make  the  President  laugh.  General  Grant  was 
usually  so  quiet  that,  had  it  been  another  man,  he 
would  have  seemed  saturnine.  With  him  it  was 
merely — silence,  and  a  silence  that  was  more  full  of 
kindness  and  contentment  than  anything  else.  Gen 
eral  Porter  was  a  particularly  good  after-dinner  com 
panion;  it  is  said  that  no  one  could  tell  a  Dutch  or 
Irish  dialect  story  as  well.  That  seems  odd  for  a  man 
who  had  the  manners  of  a  Chesterfield.  Perhaps  it 
was  because  of  his  stories  that,  when  the  President 
came  down  for  a  day  from  Long  Branch — where  he 
made  his  summer  home — to  attend  a  cabinet  meet- 

156 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

ing,  General  Porter  was  his  frequent  companion  at 
the  little  bachelor  dinner  sent  in  from  Wormley's. 
The  two  would  sit  over  their  cigars  until  late  into 
the  night,  and  General  Grant  would  smoke  many 
cigars  and  shake  with  laughter  over  Porter's  stories. 

I  think  that  General  Dent  was  inclined  to  be  some 
what  jealous  of  both  Porter  and  Babcock.  It  was 
natural,  perhaps,  that  he  should  feel  so,  for,  having 
his  desk  in  the  reception-room,  he  was  not  as  in 
timately  associated  with  the  President  as  were  the 
two  military  secretaries.  He  was  a  trifle  sensitive 
about  not  being  as  well  informed  as  the  other  men. 
In  consequence  the  newspaper  reporters  found  him 
their  natural  prey.  When  they  first  came  to  him  to 
find  out  about  any  matter,  he  would  say : 

"Oh  yes,  I  know  all  about  that  affair,  but  I  can't 
talk." 

Then  the  shrewd  scribes  would  pretend  not  to  be 
lieve  that  he  had  any  information,  and,  in  order  to 
prove  that  he  did  know,  he  would  talk — and  some 
times  more  than  he  should  have  done. 

Whether  the  President  was  annoyed  by  this  or 
not  I  do  not  know,  but  it  was  impossible  for 
any  one  to  see  General  Grant  with  either  Porter  or 
Babcock  without  knowing  that  he  was  genuinely  fond 
of  both  men.  He  used  to  call  Babcock  ' '  Bab,"  and  was 
as  affectionate  with  him  as  so  quiet  a  man  could  be. 

The  general  public,  of  course,  saw  very  little  of 
this  capacity  of  the  President  for  friendship  and 
geniality.  What  most  impressed  them  was  his  taci 
turnity.  I  have  laughed  many  times  over  the  aston- 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

ishment  of  a  Dutchman  who  came  to  the  White  House 
to  ask  some  favor — probably  a  position — of  the 
President.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  number  of 
friends,  who  were  exploding  with  consonants  and 
ejaculating  gutturals  at  a  great  rate,  apparently  to 
give  him  courage.  They  had  much  advice  to  give 
him.  The  corner  of  the  reception-room  in  which  they 
were  gathered  was  buzzing  with  sound.  At  last  the 
Dutchman  was  allowed  to  enter.  His  friends  were 
just  soberly  preparing  to  wait  for  him  when  he  came 
out.  Again  they  crowded  eagerly  around  him. 

"Veil?— Veil?"  they  demanded,  impatiently.  The 
man  didn't  seem  to  know  how  to  begin.  He  was 
looking  dazed  and  puzzled.  His  friends  pressed  him: 
-Veil?— Veil?" 

"Veil,"  he  said,  wonderingly,  "I  vendt  in — undt  I 
game  oudt!"  They  all  departed,  darkly  muttering 
gutturals. 

The  President  had  probably  told  him  that  he  would 
"  look  into  his  case.'*  If  he  found  it  a  worthy  one,  the 
Dutchman  received  what  he  wanted,  I  am  sure.  Gen 
eral  Grant  rarely  promised  anything  to  applicants.  If 
he  did  promise,  the  man  might  be  sure  of  his  position. 
I  don't  believe  that  President  Grant  ever  failed  to 
fulfil  a  promise.  Even  William  P.  Wood — of  whom 
I  shall  have  something  to  say  later  on — recognized 
that.  At  the  time  Wood  was  making  himself  ready 
to  undermine  the  President's  position,  if  opportunity 
offered,  he  wrote: 

General  Grant  is  no  coward.  If  he  decides  and  promises 
you  the  appointment,  it  will  be  made. 

158 


WHITE    HOUSE    UNDER    U.    S.    GRANT 

In  general,  President  Grant's  manner  to  the  per 
sons  who  passed  the  scrutiny  of  the  reception-room 
and  were  allowed  to  enter  his  office,  was  non-com 
mittal.  When,  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  ad 
ministration,  I  was  put  in  charge  of  the  reception- 
room,  I  had  more  opportunity  to  observe  his  methods. 
He  sat  erect  at  his  desk,  and  allowed  the  man  to  set 
forth  his  case.  He  was  a  good  listener,  and  his  silence 
was  receptive,  inviting  the  applicant  to  state  his 
position  fully.  The  keen  eyes  of  the  President  were 
on  him  while  he  spoke.  After  a  time  I  grew  to  in 
terpret  General  Grant's  expression  fairly  well,  and 
could  guess  with  some  accuracy  how  the  applicant 
had  impressed  him.  But  the  man  himself  was  usually 
mystified  until  he  heard  from  the  matter  later  on. 

As  far  as  possible,  the  President  guarded  himself 
against  personal  appeals.  He  did  this,  as  I  believe, 
so  that  he  could  decide  on  the  merits  of  the  case,  un 
influenced  by  feeling.  The  whole  routine  of  the  office 
was  organized  for  this  purpose.  The  secretaries  dis 
posed  of  a  great  deal  of  business  without  consulting 
him;  only  those  cases  which  really  needed  his  atten 
tion  were  submitted  to  him.  The  clerks  in  the  office 
saw  very  little  of  him.  When  I  was  in  charge,  at  the 
close  of  each  day,  I  went  to  him  with  the  papers  that 
had  been  left  with  me  and  explained  their  contents. 
He  listened  in  silence.  Then  he  took  the  papers  and 
considered  them.  When  he  had  finished  they  were 
all  returned  to  the  officers  of  departments  under 
which  they  came,  some  with  indorsements  in  the 
President's  handwriting.  From  one  case  which  came 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

under  my  observation  I  feel  sure  that  when  President 
Grant  felt  it  necessary  to  refuse  to  hear  personal 
appeals  it  was  often  in  fear  that,  if  he  heard  them, 
his  judgment  might  be  influenced  by  personal  sym 
pathy. 

The  case  to  which  I  have  referred  was  that  of  an 
unfortunate  woman  from  Tennessee  whose  husband 
had  been  imprisoned  for  violating  the  Internal 
Revenue  laws.  She  had  had  one  interview  with  the 
President,  in  which  she  had  placed  the  matter  before 
him,  accompanied  by  a  strong  petition  signed  by  her 
friends  and  neighbors.  The  President  had  referred 
her  to  the  Department  of  Justice,  but  the  Attorney- 
General  had  reported  adversely  upon  it.  Still  she 
persisted  in  her  attempt  to  free  her  husband.  She 
begged  for  another  interview  with  the  President. 
He  declined  to  hear  her,  saying: 

"I  cannot  grant  her  petition." 

Then  she  pleaded  with  me  to  take  a  message  to  him. 
I  must  admit  she  moved  me,  and  I  took  the  card  on 
which  she  had  written  a  few  words.  As  he  read 
them  his  eyes  filled  with  tears.  On  the  reverse  side 
of  the  card  he  wrote : 

I  have  tried  to  find  something  to  justify  your  husband, 
but  I  cannot.  It  is  painful  to  me  to  refuse  you. 

I  could  see  how  much  it  cost  him  to  persevere  in 
what  he  felt  was  the  right  course.  His  position  was 
often  a  hard  one.  Many  appeals  were  made  to  him 
which  he  could  not  grant — and  the  President  was  a 
tender-hearted  man. 

1 60 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

When  a  case  did  come  to  his  personal  attention, 
and  when  the  plea  was  something  that  he  could 
grant,  he  was  soft-hearted  enough.  At  one  time  a 
young  woman  called  and  said  that  she  must  see  the 
President  on  important  business.  She  seemed  to  be 
in  great  distress.  I  told  General  Grant  about  her, 
and  he  said  that  he  would  give  her  a  few  minutes. 
When  she  went  into  the  room  she  was  trembling. 
With  a  shaky  voice  she  managed  to  tell  him  that  the 
young  man  to  whom  she  was  engaged  had  lost  every 
thing,  and  that  their  marriage — which  was  to  have 
been  in  a  month  or  so — seemed  impossible — ''Unless 
— oh,  won't  you  give  him  an  appointment  in  one  of 
the  departments,  and  then  we  can  be  married,  and 
we'll  be — oh — so  happy?" 

The  President  smiled  to  himself.  It  was  evidently 
a  novelty  to  him  to  appear  as  a  sort  of  Presidential 
Cupid.  He  was  silent,  while  the  girl  blushed.  Then 
he  asked  her  if  she  had  any  papers  recommending 
her  lover.  In  answer,  she  said : 

"I  will  recommend  him,"  and  handed  the  Gen 
eral  the  application  which  had  been  made  out  by  the 
young  man.  With  a  little  twitching  of  his  lips  the 
President  gravely  acknowledged  her  recommendation 
and  wrote  something  on  a  card.  He  handed  it  to  her, 
saying : 

"Tell  the  young  man  to  present  this  to  the  head 
of  the  department  indicated,  and  I  hope  you  will  both 
be  happy." 

This  young  woman  was  quite  the  most  interesting 
recruit,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  to  the  great 

161 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

army  of  office-seekers  which,  gathering  from  all  di 
rections,  bore  down  upon  Washington.  Their  press 
ure  upon  the  President  was  something  beyond  belief. 
I  have  been  in  the  White  House  for  forty  years,  I 
have  seen  the  hordes  that  besieged  both  Lnicoln  and 
Johnson.  I  have  never  seen  anything  in  their  ad 
ministrations  that  could  compare  with  the  situation 
under  Grant.  Nor  have  I  seen  anything  like  it  since. 

I  don't  know  what  the  reason  for  this  was,  unless 
it  was  that  the  general  disorganization  caused  by  the 
war  was  just  beginning  to  be  felt.  President  Johnson 
had  been  so  isolated  both  from  the  Republicans  and 
the  Democrats  that  I  suppose  there  were  not  so 
many  that  felt  authorized  in  claiming  positions  of 
him.  But  President  Grant  was  the  Republican  idol, 
and  all  good  Republicans  who  helped  elect  him 
moved  down  upon  Washington.  Because  of  the 
enmity  between  Grant  and  Johnson  it  was  expected 
that  General  Grant  would  make  a  clean  sweep,  Their 
numbers  were  swelled  by  the  disbanded  Union  soldiers. 

There  were  various  reasons  why  there  were  more  of 
those  who  wanted  positions  than  there  had  been 
under  Johnson.  Many  of  them  had  been  retained  in 
service  during  the  reconstruction  troubles  that  fol 
lowed  the  war.  When  the  last  State  had  been  read 
mitted,  the  army  could  be  reduced  to  its  normal  size. 
Then,  too,  the  soldiers  who  were  mustered  out  at  the 
end  of  the  war  had  naturally  tried  first  to  take  up 
again  the  work  they  had  put  down  at  the  call  to 
arms.  Where  they  found  that  the  places  they  had 
filled  were  taken  by  other  persons,  and  where  no 

162 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

other  situations  were  to  be  had  in  the  towns  from 
which  they  had  gone  out,  they  naturally  turned  to 
the  Government  for  which  they  had  been  fighting 
to  give  them  a  chance  of  earning  their  living.  And 
they  felt  that  their  old  commander-in-chief  would 
understand  their  need. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  the  first  chance  for 
positions  should  have  been  given  to  the  disbanded 
soldiers.  The  first  necessity  was  theirs  as  well  as  the 
first  right.  In  many  cases  they  were  disabled  from 
more  active  work.  Moreover,  these  were  the  men 
whom  General  Grant  knew  best.  "A  loyal  Union 
soldier"  was  a  name  to  conjure  by.  The  President's 
letter-book  is  full  of  notes  of  this  sort:  "...  The 
President  hopes  that  in  your  selections  you  will  give 
the  preference  to  disabled  soldiers  wherever  they  are 
found  competent."  There  was  even  a  new  bureau 
formed,  called  "General  Service,"  to  give  employment 
to  ex-soldiers.  I  remember  how  emphatic  he  was 
about  a  case  which  I  happened  to  call  to  his  attention. 
The  man  was  a  thoroughly  worthy  one,  an  old  soldier. 
He  had  been  employed  at  the  Capitol  for  three  or 
four  years,  but  in  one  of  the  changes  he  had  been 
dismissed.  His  recommendations  were  of  the  high 
est  character.  All  this  I  learned  after  he  had  been 
waiting  for  several  days  for  an  opportunity  to  see 
the  President,  who  was  very  much  crowded  just  then 
with  business.  I  told  General  Grant  about  it.  He 
listened  attentively,  and  then  wrote  on  a  card : 

The  Postmaster-General  will  appoint  this  man  if  he  has 
to  discharge  a  Democrat  to  do  it. 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Just  as,  in  filling  minor  positions,  he  thought  first 
of  the  soldiers  whose  loyalty  had  been  tested,  so, 
in  filling  positions  which  called  for  military  knowl 
edge  or  for  strictly  executive  qualities,  he  turned  to 
those  officers  who  had  had  an  opportunity  to  demon 
strate  those  qualities  in  their  military  careers.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  most  of  General  Grant's 
active  life  had  been  spent  in  the  army  or  in  training 
for  it.  His  associates  at  West  Point  became  the 
officers  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  the  officers,  on  both 
sides,  in  the  Civil  War.  No  man  ever  had  a  keener 
appreciation  of  the  ability  of  other  men  in  his  own 
profession  than  did  Ulysses  S.  Grant.  His  Memoirs 
are  full  of  his  impressions  of  his  brother  officers,  al 
ways  keen,  usually  kindly,  often  enthusiastic,  and, 
even  when  he  is  forced  to  be  disapproving,  entirely 
fair.  No  man  was  more  generous.  I  know  of  a  good 
example  of  this  trait.  On  one  occasion,  when  the 
President  and  his  family  were  at  Long  Branch,  he 
gave  a  dinner  of  about  twelve  covers  to  an  English 
man  who  was  touring  the  United  States.  In  the 
course  of  the  conversation  the  Englishman  asked 
General  Grant  what  he  thought  of  Sheridan  as  a 
commanding  officer.  The  President  had  been  rolling 
bread-balls  between  his  fingers,  as  I  have  often  seen 
him  doing  when  I  had  messages  to  take  to  him  in  the 
dining-room — a  queer  little  habit  it  was.  He  dropped 
the  ball  he  was  making,  and  looked  squarely  at  his  guest. 

" Sheridan  as  a  commanding  general,"  he  said, 
slowly,  as  if  he  were  weighing  his  words,  "has  no 
superior,  dead  or  alive." 

164 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

Considering  this  quality  of  the  man,  it  is  not  sur 
prising  that  Generals  Porter,  Babcock,  and  Dent 
should  have  been  detailed  to  the  executive  office,  or 
that  Generals  Schofield,  Rawlins,  and  Belknap  should 
have  been  at  different  times  Secretary  of  War,  or 
that  territorial  governors  should  have  been  from  the 
army.  At  the  beginning  of  his  administration  I  be 
lieve  that  the  President  did  not  consider  it  possible 
that  a  great  soldier  could  fail  to  be  otherwise  a  great 
man.  This  fact  explains  much  that  follows. 

The  President  has  been  much  criticised  for  his  cabi 
net  appointments.  It  may  be  noticed,  however,  that 
no  ex-army  officer  was  appointed  to  a  cabinet  position 
other  than  that  of  war,  nor  were  the  appointments 
dictated  by  party  considerations.  In  this  the  Presi 
dent  showed  the  same  desire  to  act  on  his  own  inde 
pendent  judgment  that  I  have  remarked  upon  in  the 
smaller  cases  that  came  before  him  for  settlement. 
Adam  Badeau  also  comments  upon  it  in  his  recol 
lections  of  General  Grant.  The  President's  deter 
mination  not  to  be  ruled  by  party  considerations  or 
by  outside  advice  led  to  an  apparent  haste  and  secrecy 
which  really  made  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  One  of 
the  men  whom  he  wished  to  appoint  to  a  cabinet 
position  couldn't  accept  it  because  he  had  not  been 
given  time  for  arranging  his  private  affairs.  The 
appointee  had  seen  the  President  the  day  before  the 
position  was  offered  to  him.  There  had  been  a  cor 
dial  conversation,  but  nothing  had  been  told  him  of 
the  honor  the  President  had  decided  to  bestow 
upon  him. 

165 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Because  of  this  same  habit,  Mr.  Hamilton  Fish,  to 
whom  the  President  offered  the  portfolio  of  state  after 
the  resignation  of  Mr.  Washburne,  at  first  refused  to 
accept.  It  was  necessary  to  send  General  Babcock 
on  to  New  York  to  persuade  him  to  reconsider  his 
determination.  In  the  first  letter-book  of  General 
Grant's  administration,  which  I  have  in  my  posses 
sion,  is  a  copy  of  the  note  which  the  President  sent 
to  Mr.  Fish.  He  says: 

.  .  .  Let  me  beg  of  you  now,  to  avoid  another  break,  to 
accept  for  the  present;  and  should  you  not  like  the  position, 
you  can  withdraw  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress. 

It  was  fortunate  that  he  did  prevail  on  Mr.  Fish  to 
accept,  for  the  New-Yorker  was  perhaps  the  strongest 
of  the  cabinet  officers.  I  used  to  see  him  often  about 
the  White  House.  He  was  a  large,  British-looking 
sort  of  man. 

The  many  difficulties  growing  out  of  the  frequent 
cabinet  changes  brought  discredit  upon  the  adminis 
tration.  It  was  said  that  President  Grant  had  low 
ered  the  position  of  cabinet  officer.  It  was  said  that, 
in  the  case  of  Mr.  Washburne,  who  was  first  appointed 
Secretary  of  State,  the  President,  knowing  that  what 
Mr.  Washburne  really  wanted  was  the  mission  to 
France,  had  deliberately  given  his  friend  the  most 
dignified  position  at  his  command  with  the  under 
standing  that  it  was  to  be  held  only  long  enough  for 
Mr.  Washburne  to  fill  the  department  with  his  own 
political  henchmen.  Of  course,  this  sort  of  a  bargain 
is  made  every  day,  but  it  was  rather  curious  for  the 

166 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

President  to  be,  on  one  hand,  accused  of  undue  in 
dependence  of  his  party,  and,  on  the  other,  of  undue 
subservience  to  mere  political  considerations. 

The  incident  is  rather  a  small  thing,  and  would  not 
be  worth  discussing  were  it  not  that  it  was  one  of 
the  factors  of  public  criticism  which  began  almost 
with  the  administration.  Of  course,  I  know  nothing 
directly  about  matters  of  policy.  But  there  is  a  com 
munication  in  the  letter-book  of  which  I  spoke  which 
was  written  by  President  Grant  to  Mr.  Washburne 
about  this  affair.  He  alludes  first  to  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Washburne  had  given  his  ill-health  as  a  reason 
for  resigning  the  Secretaryship.  The  letter  goes  on 
to  say: 

.  .  .  Our  present  relations  have  been  such  from  the  break 
ing  out  of  the  Rebellion  to  the  present  day,  and  your  sup 
port  individually  and  of  the  Army,  and  its  cause,  such  that 
no  other  idea  presented  itself  stronger  to  my  mind  in  the 
first  news  of  my  election  to  the  Presidency  than  that  I 
should  continue  to  have  your  advice  and  assistance.  In 
parting  with  you,  therefore,  I  do  it  with  .  .  .  the  hope  that 
you  may  soon  be  relieved  of  the  physical  disabilities  under 
which  you  have  labored  for  the  last  few  years. 

Now  it  is  possible  that  this  letter  was  a  political 
expedient.  Badeau  says  that  General  Grant  learned 
diplomacy  while  he  was  President.  But  my  own  im 
pression  of  General  Grant's  truthfulness  makes  me 
believe  that  he  would  not  have  written  as  he  did 
unless  he  meant  what  he  said.  Mr.  Luckey  said  to 
me  that  he  himself  was  very  much  surprised  at  Mr. 
Washburne's  action.  I  believe  Luckey,  who  was  a 
sort  of  political  confidant  of  Washburne's,  would 

167 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

have  known  had  his  resignation  been  a  prearranged 
matter. 

Another  cabinet  position  about  which  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  discussion  was  that  of  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  General  Grant  offered  the  position  to 
A.  T.  Stewart,  the  famous  New  York  merchant,  feel 
ing  that  a  man  who  was  able  to  manage  a  great 
business  so  successfully  would  be  just  the  man  with 
whom  to  intrust  the  disordered  finances  of  the  coun 
try.  Now  Mr.  Stewart  had  made  a  ten-thousand- 
dollar  contribution  to  a  fund  which  was  raised  in 
New  York  about  three  years  earlier  to  enable  General 
Grant,  a  poor  man,  to  run  for  office.  It  was  there 
fore  immediately  stated  by  the  President's  political 
enemies  that  Stewart  had  bought  the  position.  Later 
on,  in  the  campaign  for  re-election,  certain  members 
of  the  opposition  in  their  campaign  speeches  seem 
to  have  purposely  misstated  the  facts.  They  stated 
that  it  was  just  two  weeks  after  the  President  had 
accepted  the  gift  that  he  offered  the  portfolio  to  Mr. 
Stewart.  This  is  one  of  the  first  instances  of  the 
way  General  Grant's  reputation  suffered  from  un 
founded  rumors.  There  was  much  opposition  to  Mr. 
Stewart,  led  by  Charles  Sumner,  and  he  was  not  con 
firmed.  Mr.  Boutwell  was  made  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury. 

If  trie  President  did  make  mistakes  in  making  his 
cabinet  appointments,  they  were  the  ones  that  were 
natural  to  his  temperament  and  training.  He  did 
not  consult  others  in  making  appointments,  even  the 
men  concerned.  He  made  his  choice  with  military 

168 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

promptness,  as  he  would  have  appointed  a  department 
commander  during  the  war.  As  for  his  desire  not 
to  be  bound  by  party  dictation,  it  was  certainly  a 
wholesome  thing  in  a  day  when  party  was  supposed 
to  rule  everything.  And  whether  it  was  true  that 
there  was  corruption  among  them  or  not,  at  the 
time  of  their  appointment  they  were  all  considered 
to  be  men  of  stainless  honor.  No  man  can  be  expected 
to  know  what  may  develop  in  another  man's  char 
acter.  There  were  at  least  three  men  of  great  ability 
in  General  Grant's  first  cabinet.  I  have  read  com 
ments  on  the  lack  of  judgment  shown  in  the  selection 
of  the  whole  number,  but  it  strikes  me  that  the  cabi 
net  compared  pretty  favorably  with  later  ones  that  I 
have  known. 

It  was  just  the  same  way  about  other  actions  of 
the  President.  Even  in  the  first  administration  the 
criticism  began.  Of  course,  it  must  be  taken  for 
granted  that  I  am  somewhat  prejudiced.  I  would 
like  to  know  what  man  wouldn't  be  after  a  long  and 
pleasant  association  with  people  like  General  Grant 
and  his  family.  But  there  are  many  facts  to  bear 
out  my  opinion.  I  can't  find,  even  after  all  this  time, 
when  I  have  had  an  opportunity  to  read  what  other 
men  have  thought  about  it,  a  single  instance  of  public 
policy  which  really  originated  with  the  President 
which  was  not  as  honest  and  vigorous  as  the  actions 
of  his  private  life. 

Take  the  difficulty  with  England  which  grew  out  of 
the  Alabama  claim,  for  instance.     What  government 
could  better  have  steered  its  way  through  a  delicate 
12  169 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

and  even  dangerous  matter?  Of  course,  General 
Grant  had  the  advantage  of  the  brilliant  statesman 
ship  of  Mr.  Hamilton  Fish.  But  General  Grant  chose 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and  they  acted  throughout 
in  perfect  accord.  They  carried  the  thing  through 
successfully  in  spite  of  the  constant  opposition  of 
Sumner,  who  was  chairman  of  the  foreign  relations 
committee.  Motley,  the  historian,  had  been  ap 
pointed  Minister  to  England  at  the  wish  of  Sumner. 
He  acted  on  the  instructions  of  the  Senator  instead 
of  following  the  policy  of  the  President  and  the  Sec 
retary  of  State.  The  result  was  that  the  English 
people  were  much  displeased  by  the  arrogance  he 
showed,  and  it  seemed  at  one  time  as  if  there  might  be 
discord  between  the  two  countries.  President  Grant 
immediately  removed  Motley,  which  was  the  only 
possible  thing  to  do  under  the  circumstances.  Secre 
tary  Fish  and  Sir  Edward  Thornton,  the  British 
Minister,  were  then  able  to  work  together  to  have  a 
Joint  High  Commission  meet  at  Washington  to  settle 
the  dispute.  The  result  was  the  Treaty  of  Wash 
ington,  which  submitted  the  matter  to  arbitration. 
At  Geneva,  with  Charles  Francis  Adams  as  the  arbi 
trator  for  the  United  States,  after  great  danger  of 
disagreement,  the  case  was  finally  won  for  the  United 
States.  While  the  success  of  the  negotiations  was 
due  in  great  part  to  Secretary  Fish  and  to  Mr.  Adams, 
as  well  as  to  the  fairness  of  the  English  Government, 
it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  President  Grant's  atti 
tude  throughout  had  been  firm  and  dignified  as  well 
as  entirely  free  from  bitterness. 

170 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

There  was  one  matter  of  foreign  policy  for  which  I 
think  President  Grant  has  never  received  enough 
credit.  That  was,  the  part  which  Minister  Wash- 
burne  played  during  the  siege  of  Paris  in  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War.  We  have  all  read  how  Mr.  Wash- 
burne  remained  in  Paris  when  the  representatives  of 
other  nations — fearing,  I  suppose,  to  get  their  home 
governments  into  trouble — had  fled.  The  story  of 
his  life  during  the  siege  is  full  of  interest  and  excite 
ment.  It  has,  of  course,  been  made  public  property; 
but  any  one  who  wants  to  know  just  how  important 
a  factor  the  American  Minister  was  can  get  a  pretty 
good  idea  from  the  Washburne  correspondence  in  the 
Congressional  Library  at  Washington.  There  he  will 
find  appeal  after  appeal — from  the  parents  of  young 
Americans  travelling  in  Europe,  to  find  out  whether 
their  children  were  caught  behind  the  Prussian  bar 
riers,  and  begging  the  Minister  to  get  them  out;  from 
some  comptesse  or  marquise,  pleading  that  monsieur  le 
ministre  will  find  Marie  or  Francois  hidden  away  in 
the  deserted  hotel,  and  save  her  or  him  from  starva 
tion;  from  charity  workers,  who  had  some  case  of 
destitution  to  report. 

Mr.  Washburne  worked  nobly  to  perform  all  these 
commissions,  and  to  administer  various  relief  funds 
that  were  placed  at  his  disposal.  He  made  for  him 
self  a  place  in  the  affections  of  the  French  people 
which  no  other  American  has  ever  held.  Of  course 
the  United  States,  too,  took  a  position  before  other 
nations  which  she  had  never  held  before.  But  it  is 
President  Grant  to  whom  credit  of  the  policy  is  due, 

171 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

for  he  cabled  Minister  Washburne  to  remain  in  Paris 
and  do  what  he  could  to  protect  the  Americans  there, 
and  Minister  Washburne  remained  in  Paris  because 
President  Grant  cabled  him  to  do  so. 

I  have  seen  somewhere  the  statement  that  General 
Grant  needed  all  the  credit  he  could  get  from  the 
Treaty  of  Washington,  and  from  foreign  relations 
generally,  to  counteract  the  effect  of  his  misgovern- 
ment  at  home.  I  can't  understand  remarks  like  this. 
Of  course,  it  was  true  that  his  administrations  were 
marked  by  a  long  series  of  political  scandals.  Owing 
to  this,  he  was  practically  powerless  in  the  second 
administration.  But  in  the  first,  when  he  really  had 
an  opportunity  to  show  what  he  could  do,  he  did  a 
number  of  pretty  fine  things. 

It  was  only  the  other  day  that  one  of  our  news 
papers  came  out  with  a  panegyric  on  the  part  Presi 
dent  Grant  had  played  in  vetoing  the  bill  authorizing 
an  overgreat  bond  issue.  The  editor  said  that  in 
doing  so  he  had  saved  the  country  from  dishonor,  for 
the  Government  would  not  have  been  able  to  redeem 
the  notes.  The  President  had  the  same  sense  of 
scrupulous  honesty  in  his  standards  for  the  public 
at  large  as  he  proved  that  he  had  in  his  own  personal 
money  affairs — proved  when  to  do  so  made  him — 
well,  something  like  a  martyr.  He  never  failed  to 
take  a  firm  stand  for  sound  money;  he  insisted  on  a 
gold  standard  for  paying  the  national  debt;  he 
sacrificed  his  own  family  connections  when,  in  the 
big  gold  speculation,  he  found  that  his  brother-in-law 
was  counting  on  his  help  to  enable  the  Fisk-Gould- 

172 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

Cor  bin  combination  to  corner  gold.  The  President 
ordered  a  portion  of  the  Treasury  gold  sold,  and  Fisk, 
Gould,  and  Corbin  went  down. 

With  regard  to  the  part  President  Grant  played  in 
the  Civil  Service  Reform  agitation,  I  feel  that  he  did 
all  that  it  was  possible  for  a  man  to  do  during  those 
years,  for  he  asserted  his  principles  vigorously;  he 
carried  them  out  as  far  as  he  could  (I  have  already 
said  that  the  spoils  system  did  not  obtain  in  the 
office  of  which  I  had  practical  experience) ,  and  when 
he  finally  gave  Civil  Service  Reform  up,  in  1874,  he 
did  it  because  he  saw  that  it  was  impossible  to  carry 
it  out  in  the  condition  of  public  feeling  at  that  time. 
Afterward,  in  answer  to  some  criticisms,  General  Grant 
said  that  his  critics  did  not  understand  the  conditions 
against  which  he  had  to  contend.  It  is  certainly  true 
that,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  reformers  like  Carl 
Schurz,  the  mass  of  the  Republican  Party  had  no 
desire  to  have  Civil  Service  Reform  established.  It 
is  true  that  President  Hayes  and  President  Cleveland, 
later  on,  were  able  to  accomplish  more.  But  the  pub 
lic  feeling  was  very  different  during  their  adminis 
trations.  The  display  of  public  corruption  had  sick 
ened  the  people  and  made  them  ready  for  reform. 

If  any  one  wants  proof  that  President  Grant  was 
better  than  his  party,  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  study  the 
great  Southern  Pacific-Credit  Mobilier  steal  which 
Congress  allowed  to  go  through.  No  one  will  ever 
know  just  how  many  Congressmen  and  Senators  were 
bought  by  those  expert  "financiers."  But  that  great 
numbers  were  presented  with  Southern  Pacific  stock, 

173 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

and  that  some  of  the  greatest  were  implicated,  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  That  is  a  pretty  good  test  of  the 
state  of  politician  morals.  It  shows,  too,  just  how 
possible  it  would  have  been  to  get  disinterested  re 
form  legislation  through. 

Whether  the  President  was  energetic  in  his  Civil 
Service  Reform  policy  or  not,  he  was,  as  I  have  said 
before,  most  just  and  fair  in  his  dealings  with  his  own 
subordinates.  The  merit  system  certainly  prevailed 
in  the  executive  office,  even  if  none  of  us  had  passed 
competitive  examinations  to  get  there.  While  Presi 
dent  Grant  was  laconic  to  his  clerks  as  to  the  rest  of 
the  world,  I  have  reason  to  know  that  he  was  ob 
servant.  Up  to  the  end  of  the  first  administration 
I  had  never  been  particularly  sure  that  he  even  knew 
that  I  was  around.  Yet  when,  in  1873,  General  Dent 
left  the  White  House  and  returned  to  the  army,  the 
President  arranged  that  I  should  have  charge  of  the 
reception-room.  I  should  never  have  known  that  I 
was  promoted  by  General  Grant's  wish  had  General 
Dent  not  told  me.  Some  time  after  I  had  taken  my 
desk  there  I  was  home  sick  for  two  days.  General 
Babcock  told  me  that  the  President  came  in  and 
looked  around  for  me. 

" Where  is  Crook?"  he  asked. 

"He  is  home  sick,"  General  Babcock  told  him. 

"I  thought  he  must  be  away,"  said  the  President. 
"Nothing  has  gone  right  here  these  two  days." 

He  paid  us  the  greatest  consideration  that  it  is 
ever  possible  for  a  superior  to  show  to  his  subordi 
nates — a  quick  and  business-like  response  when  he 

1 74 


WHITE  HOUSE  UNDER  U.  S.  GRANT 

was  appealed  to  in  our  interest.  An  incident  which 
happened  after  he  left  the  White  House  will  illustrate 
this  point.  In  1881,  after  Mr.  Garfield  was  inau 
gurated,  I  asked  General  Grant  for  a  letter  recom 
mending  me  to  the  new  administration.  General 
Grant  was  in  New  York  at  the  time.  I  sent  the  let 
ter  Thursday.  The  answer  came  Saturday.  At  that 
time  there  could  have  been  nothing  kinder  to  me  than 
such  promptness. 

Yet  I  do  not  think  that  President  Grant  was  be 
loved  by  the  people  about  him  quite  as  President 
Lincoln  was ;  in  fact,  no  one  ever  had  the  marvellous 
power  of  attraction  that  Abraham  Lincoln  had.  But 
we  thoroughly  respected  General  Grant.  I  can  hard 
ly  express  too  strongly  the  confidence  with  which  he 
inspired  us  all.  We  all  felt  instinctively  that  he  was 
absolutely  honest.  With  other  men  he  was  a  square 
man. 


X 

FAMILY   LIFE   OF  THE   GRANTS 

WITH  the  beginning  of  the  second  administration 
a  decided  change  took  place  in  the  character  of 
the  executive  office.  The  military  element  in  it 
almost  entirely  disappeared.  As  I  have  said  before, 
General  Dent  went  back  into  the  army ;  General 
Porter  accepted  a  position  as  Vice-President  of  the 
Pullman  Palace  Car  Company,  and  left  us;  while 
General  Babcock  still  acted  as  Secretary,  in  1871  he 
was  made  Superintendent  of  Buildings  and  Grounds, 
and  discharged  those  functions  in  addition  to  his 
former  duties.  The  public  must  have  missed  the 
military  titles  which  had  so  abounded,  for,  as  soon  as 
I  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  reception-room,  they 
christened  me  ''Colonel"  Crook.  And  " Colonel"  I 
have  remained  ever  since. 

It  was  natural  that  in  the  second  administration  I 
should  have  come  more  closely  in  touch  both  with 
General  Grant  and  with  his  family.  I  wish  to  say 
here  that,  in  the  four  years  in  which  I  saw  him  every 
day  except  Sunday,  I  do  not  remember  one  occasion 
when  the  President  was  out  of  temper  or  when  he 
failed  to  listen  sympathetically  to  all  requests.  Nor 

176 


FAMILY    LIFE    OF    THE    GRANTS 

do  I  know  of  one  case  where  he  did  not  do  all  that 
he  could  for  the  applicant. 

I  think  no  man  ever  separated  his  business  life 
from  his  social  life  more  completely  than  did  Presi 
dent  Grant.  He  was  an  entirely  different  man  when 
his  friends  were  around  him.  That  does  not  mean 
that  he  was  talkative  or  that  he  laughed  very  often, 
but  he  was  genial  and  full  of  content.  And  then 
again,  no  man  ever  kept  his  home  more  apart  from 
both  business  and  formal  social  things. 

It  surely  must  have  done  every  one  who  was  asso 
ciated  with  the  White  House  good  to  have  it  a  real 
home.  I  know  it  did  me.  While  the  clerks  saw  little 
of  General  Grant,  the  relation  between  the  President 
and  his  secretaries  was  so  pleasant,  and  they  in  turn 
so  passed  on  the  kindly  feeling,  that  somehow  the 
whole  force  felt  it.  It  warmed  us  all  like  a  glowing 
fire.  One  illustration  that  I  remember  of  the  pleas 
ant  thoughtfulness  shown  by  some  member  of  the 
Grant  family  was  the  croquet-ground,  which  was  given 
up  to  the  use  of  the  office  force.  It  was  laid  out  in 
the  south  grounds,  near  to  the  house.  Any  pleasant 
afternoon,  after  office  hours,  exciting  tournaments 
were  the  order  of  the  day.  Major  Sniffen,  who  was 
assistant  private  secretary  in  the  second  adminis 
tration,  and  I  were  partners  or  competitors  in  many 
a  close-drawn  game. 

The  influence  of  Mrs.  Grant,  too,  was  felt  more  than 
had  been  that  of  the  mistress  of  the  White  House  be 
fore — as  long,  at  least,  as  I  had  been  in  it.  Mrs. 
Grant  was  a  warm-hearted,  kindly  woman.  She  was 

177 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

familiar  with  the  White  House  from  cellar  to  garret, 
and  she  knew  the  servants  personally.  Her  interest 
in  her  domestic  household  was  not  a  perfunctory  one ; 
she  had  a  motherly  sort  of  feeling  of  responsibility  in 
the  welfare  of  her  dependents.  Any  morning  her 
stout,  comfortable  figure  might  have  been  seen  mak 
ing  the  rounds  of  kitchens  and  pantries,  and  stopping 
to  hold  little  colloquies  with  maids  or  men.  She  was 
particularly  anxious  that  the  servants  should  be 
thrifty  and  saving.  She  urged  them  to  begin  to  buy 
little  homes,  that  they  might  be  more  independent 
and  self-respecting.  One  of  the  footmen  owes  the 
fact  that  he  owns  the  home  he  now  lives  in  to  her 
advice. 

Moreover,  Mrs.  Grant  had  a  great  deal  of  influence 
with  her  husband.  I  saw  an  evidence  of  this  one 
morning.  A  man  called  to  ask  the  President  for  an 
appointment.  He  failed  to  see  General  Grant,  but 
succeeded  in  getting  an  interview  with  Mrs.  Grant, 
and  in  interesting  her  in  his  behalf.  The  result  was 
that  Mrs.  Grant  sent  the  man  to  her  husband  in  my 
charge.  With  him  was  a  card  that  read: 

DEAR  ULYS, — Do  please  make  this  appointment. 

JULIA. 

The  man  received  what  he  wanted,  and  I  kept  the 
card. 

Yet  no  one  obeyed  the  President's  wife  because 
she  was  haughty  or  particularly  commanding;  it  was 
rather  because  she  made  persons  want  to  please  her. 

The  same  thing  was  true,  in  different  degrees,  of 

178 


FAMILY    LIFE    OF    THE    GRANTS 

course,  of  the  whole  family.  I  have  never  seen  a 
more  devoted  family  or  a  happier  one.  There  never 
seemed  to  be  the  slightest  jar.  To  begin  with,  I  don't 
believe  any  man  and  wife  were  ever  more  devoted 
than  were  the  President  and  Mrs.  Grant.  I  am  sure 
he  thought  she  was  absolutely  perfect.  Why,  when 
arrangements  had  been  made  to  have  a  slight  opera 
tion  on  Mrs.  Grant's  eyes  to  straighten  them,  at  the 
last  minute  the  General  overturned  everything.  He 
said  he  wouldn't  have  anything  done  to  the  eyes. 
He  liked  her  just  as  she  was.  The  President  couldn't 
get  along  without  his  wife.  He  wouldn't  sit  down  to 
the  table  without  her.  In  the  morning  he  was  always 
up  first,  and  had  time  to  read  the  morning  papers- 
trie  Republican  or  the  Post — before  Mrs.  Grant  was 
dressed.  But  as  soon  as  breakfast  was  announced, 
at  half-past  nine,  he  would  knock  at  Mrs.  Grant's 
door.  Her  voice  would  come  from  within: 

11  Is  that  you,  Ulys?" 

''Breakfast  is  ready." 

"I  will  be  there  in  a  few  minutes,  General." 

The  General  would  walk  to  the  window  of  the  library 
and  wait,  fidgeting,  until  she  joined  him.  Then  she 
took  his  arm,  and  they  went  down  to  breakfast  to 
gether.  The  children  were  usually  there,  but  whether 
they  were  or  not,  one  of  these  inseparables  never 
thought  of  eating  a  meal  without  the  other.  The 
breakfast,  as  a  rule,  was  plain — broiled  Spanish 
mackerel,  steak,  breakfast-bacon  and  fried  apples  (a 
favorite  dish),  and  rolls,  flannel  cakes  or  buckwheat 
cakes,  with  a  cup  of  strong  coffee.  When  the  Presi- 

179 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

dent  had  signified  that  he  had  finished  by  pushing 
back  his  chair,  Mrs.  Grant  would  look  up  and  say: 

"All  right,  Ulys,  I  will  be  through  in  a  few  min 
utes."  Then,  when  she  had  had  another  half  cup  of 
coffee,  she  would  take  his  arm  again  and  they  would 
go  up-stairs  to  her  room.  There  they  always  had  a 
little  talk  to  begin  the  day  with,  until  he  had  to  leave 
for  his  office  in  the  cabinet-room. 

At  two,  when  lunch  was  announced,  the  President 
went  to  find  Mrs.  Grant  in  the  library,  where  she  sat 
crocheting  or  reading.  Again  they  went  arm  in  arm 
to  and  from  the  dining-room.  After  lunch  General 
Grant  drove  in  his  buggy,  walked,  or  rested  a  short 
time.  At  dinner  the  family  was  all  together.  They 
went  down  together  at  seven.  It  was  a  jolly  meal, 
with  a  great  deal  of  fun  and  laughter.  Daily,  when 
the  President  was  through,  he  rolled  up  bread  into 
little  balls  and  aimed  them  at  his  two  youngest  chil 
dren,  Nellie  and  Jesse.  When  the  missiles  hit,  he  went 
over  and  kissed  the  victim  on  the  cheek.  He  was  a 
most  loving  father. 

Mr.  Frederick  Dent  Grant  was  away  with  the  army 
most  of  the  time,  but  his  beautiful  young  wife  was 
often  at  the  White  House.  Mrs.  Grant  seemed  de 
voted  to  her  daughter-in-law,  and  had  Mrs.  Fred 
with  her  as  much  as  she  could.  It  was  at  the  White 
House  that  the  oldest  child  was  born.  Ulysses,  the 
second  son  of  General  and  Mrs.  Grant,  was  a  young 
man,  and  occupied  with  his  own  pursuits.  But 
Jesse  was  a  boy  of  about  ten,  and  Nellie  was  one 
of  the  sweetest  and  most  lovable  young  girls  I  have 

1 80 


FAMILY    LIFE    OF    THE    GRANTS 

ever  seen.  There  was  something  winsome  about  her. 
She  wasn't  exactly  pretty,  but  I  have  never  known 
any  one  who  was  more  surrounded  by  the  atmos 
phere  of  springtime  and  freshness. 

Miss  Nellie  had  been  in  Europe  the  year  before  her 
father's  second  inauguration.  She  was  much  petted 
there,  and  treated  as  if  she  were  a  little  princess. 
Her  father  and  mother  were  very  lonely  without  her. 
They  adored  her.  Mr.  Luckey  said  that  the  reason 
they  had  sent  her  away  was  that  they  realized  that 
she  would  be  much  sought,  and  they  thought  it  best 
to  keep  her  from  youthful  adorers  as  long  as  possible. 
That  was  an  ironical  sort  of  thing  when  one  remem 
bers  that  she  met  young  Sartoris  on  the  return 
voyage. 

Old  Mr.  Dent,  Mrs.  Grant's  father,  lived  at  the 
White  House  until  his  death  in  1873.  He  was  a 
sociable  and  most  lovable  old  gentleman.  He  loved 
to  spend  his  time  in  the  reception-room.  There  many 
of  his  old  friends  found  him  out  when  they  came  to 
Washington,  and  he  could  talk  with  them  about 
Missouri  and  before-the-war  politics.  He  admired  his 
son-in-law,  but  did  not  at  all  approve  of  General 
Grant's  politics.  He  called  the  President  a  turn 
coat.  The  reason  of  this  was  that,  in  1856,  he 
had  cast  his  vote  for  Buchanan,  feeling  that  the 
election  of  a  Democrat  would  postpone  secession, 
but  that  secession  would  certainly  follow  the  success 
of  the  Republican  Party.  General  Grant  has  ex 
plained  this  point  in  his  Memoirs.  But  Mr.  Dent 
could  never  understand  the  apparent  change  in 

181 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

party.  He  said  that  his  children  were  all  turn-coats, 
but  that  he  himself  never  changed  his  colors.  He 
never  quite  gave  up  the  hope  that  the  President 
would  see  the  error  of  his  ways  and  return  to  the 
Democratic  Party.  When  President  Grant  signed 
the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  his  father-in-law  said: 

"Well,  the  Republicans  are  glad  now  to  have  the 
negro  vote,  but  they  will  be  damned  sorry  after  a 
while."  It  was  not  long  before  the  prophecy  was 
fulfilled. 

But  the  old  gentleman  did  not  live  to  know  it. 
He  died  in  December  of  1873.  There  was  no  real 
illness;  it  was  rather  a  general  decay  of  the  vital 
force.  He  sent  for  me  the  day  before  the  end.  He 
wanted  me  to  make  a  memorandum  of  some  "soldier 
scrip"  he  held  for  lands  in  the  West.  As  I  was 
about  to  leave  the  room,  he  said,  rather  cheerfully 
than  otherwise: 

"Do  you  know,  Crook,  I'm  just  like  a  candle?  I'll 
snuff  out."  And  the  next  day  his  life  did  flicker  out. 

The  funeral  service  was  held  in  the  Blue  Room. 
Reverend  Doctor  Tiffany,  the  pastor  of  the  Metro 
politan  Methodist  Church,  preached  the  funeral  ser 
mon.  It  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  addresses  I 
ever  heard. 

Mr.  Dent's  death  made  a  sad  holiday-time.  Mrs. 
Grant  had  been  happy  in  the  expectation  of  having 
her  children  all  together  again  for  Christmas,  but  grief 
for  her  father  overshadowed  everything.  The  New- 
Year  reception  was  little  more  than  a  week  off,  and 
she  was  uncertain  whether  she  ought  to  receive  or 

182 


FAMILY    LIFE    OF    THE    GRANTS 

not.  All  of  the  cabinet  ladies  but  Mrs.  Fish  begged 
her  to  receive;  they  persuaded  her  that  she  had  no 
right  to  indulge  her  own  private  grief — for  the  New- 
Year  reception  was  an  important  function.  Much 
against  her  will,  Mrs.  Grant  finally  consented  to  re 
main  during  the  presentation  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps, 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  members  of  the  cabinet. 
She  was  bitterly  criticised  by  the  Washington  Capitol 
for  having  done  so.  She  said  afterward  that  she 
wished  she  had  followed  her  own  desire  in  the  matter. 
Mrs.  Grant  took  no  further  part  in  social  affairs  for 
several  months. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  President  and  his  wife 
were  again  called  upon  to  face  a  loss,  which  was  none 
the  less  a  loss  because  it  was  not  by  death.  That 
was  the  marriage  of  their  daughter  Nellie  to  Algernon 
Sartoris,  an  Englishman.  There  had  been  objections 
on  the  part  of  General  and  Mrs.  Grant,  but  they  had 
finally  given  their  consent.  The  wedding  took  place 
on  the  2ist  of  May,  1874,  at  eleven  in  the  morning.  I 
believe  there  is  an  old  superstition  that  May  is  an  un 
lucky  month  for  marriages.  There  certainly  seemed 
to  be  no  forebodings  in  this  May  wedding — or,  if 
there  were,  they  were  not  made  known  to  us  of  the 
household.  There  must  have  been  the  keenest  grief 
on  the  part  of  the  father  and  mother.  They  were 
losing  their  daughter  before  she  had  fairly  put  away 
her  dolls — she  was  not  twenty  at  the  time.  I  know 
it  seemed  a  sad  sort  of  thing  to  me,  who  was  not  of 
the  family.  Perhaps  it  was  because  it  was  such  a 
pretty  wedding  that  it  seemed  sad. 

183 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

I  have  heard  many  accounts  of  Nellie  Grant's  wed 
ding,  and  read  others.  They  all  comment  on  the  mag 
nificence,  the  richness,  of  it.  But  what  most  impress 
ed  me  was  the  youth  and  beauty  of  it.  Miss  Nellie 
was  the  youngest,  freshest  little  bride.  Sartoris  was  a 
tall,  large,  well-set-up  man,  fresh-colored  and  well- 
featured — a  gallant  enough  fellow  for  such  a  spectacle. 
There  were  many  pretty  girls  among  the  brides 
maids.  These  were  Miss  Edith  Fish,  daughter  of  the 
Secretary  of  State;  Miss  Bessie  Conkling,  daughter 
of  the  Senator  from  New  York;  Miss  Sallie  Freling- 
huysen,  daughter  of  the  Senator  from  New  Jersey; 
Miss  Lillie  Porter,  daughter  of  the  Admiral  of  the 
Navy ;  Miss  Jennie  Sherman,  daughter  of  the  General- 
in-Chief  of  the  Army;  Miss  Anna  Barnes,  daughter 
of  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army,  and  a  particular 
friend  of  Miss  Nellie's;  Miss  Fannie  Drexel,  daughter 
of  A.  J.  Drexel,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Miss  Maggie 
Dent,  cousin  of  the  bride.  They  all  wore  white,  as  I 
remember,  and  the  bride  wore  white  satin  with  veil 
and  orange  blossoms,  and  I  am  sure  that  is  as  ac 
curately  as  a  man  can  be  expected  to  remember 
ladies'  dresses  as  long  ago  as  that.  I  do  remember 
thinking  that  they  looked  like  angels  as  they  came 
down  the  long  corridor  in  advance  of  Miss  Nellie  and 
her  father,  they  were  all  so  fair  and  sweet. 

One  amusing  thing  happened  just  before  the  wed 
ding  which  shows  how  democratic  we  all  were  then. 
A  cabinet  officer — naturally  I  won't  say  which  one — 
came  to  me  and  asked  me  very  seriously  what  I 
thought  would  be  proper  to  wear  at  the  wedding. 

184 


FAMILY    LIFE    OF    THE    GRANTS 

I  thought  at  first  that  he  was  joking,  and  so 
said: 

"I'm  sure  you  know  much  better  than  I  do,  Mr. 
Secretary." 

But  he  persisted. 

"But  what  do  you  intend  to  wear,  Crook?" 

"I  expect  to  wear  my  Prince  Albert" — that  was 
what  we  used  to  call  frock-coats  in  those  days. 

"Then  I  will  wear  one,  too,"  he  said,  and  a  rather 
ill-fitting  Prince  Albert  he  did  wear. 

The  ceremony  took  place  in  the  East  Room.  The 
place  was  a  mass  of  flowers  and  plants.  A  platform 
was  erected  in  front  of  the  window  which  overlooks 
the  Treasury  Department.  The  spot  where  the  vows 
were  to  be  exchanged  was  marked  by  a  great  wed 
ding  bell  of  flowers.  There  Reverend  Doctor  Tiffany 
awaited  the  bride  and  groom ;  it  was  the  same  minis 
ter  who  had  conducted  the  service  for  Mr.  Dent. 

What  made  the  wedding  prettier  than  any  which 
has  occurred  since,  prettier  than  any  other  White 
House  wedding  could  possibly  be — unless  the  Execu 
tive  Mansion  is  again  remodelled — is  that  the  bridal 
party  came  down  the  old  stairway  which  used  to 
stand  at  the  western  end  of  the  long  corridor  in  full 
sight  of  the  company  in  the  East  Room.  We  could 
see  them  approaching  a  long  time  before  they  crossed 
the  threshold.  To  see  them  all  walking  down  so 
solemnly,  awe  at  the  approaching  ceremony  in  each 
girlish  face,  and  Miss  Nellie  at  the  last,  sweet  and 
blooming,  and  confident  of  happiness — somehow  I  im 
agine  the  sight  brought  tears  to  more  eyes  than  mine. 

13  185 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

After  his  daughter  had  left  the  house  on  her  wed 
ding  trip  the  General  was  missed.  After  consider 
able  search  he  was  found  sobbing  in  his  daughter's 
room,  with  his  head  buried  in  her  pillow. 

Years  afterward,  when  Mrs.  Sartoris  had  finally 
left  the  country  for  which  she  resigned  her  own  that 
day,  she  was  in  Washington  for  a  visit.  I  went  to 
see  her,  hoping  that  she  might  remember  me.  As 
soon  as  she  saw  me  she  burst  into  tears.  I  stood 
there,  wishing  with  all  my  heart  that  I  had  not  come. 
She  had  not  seen  me  since  her  wedding-day — I  sup 
pose  I  brought  more  of  the  past  to  her  mind  than 
she  could  bear.  In  a  minute  she  was  herself  again, 
and  spoke  to  me  very  sweetly.  I  have  not  seen  Miss 
Nellie  since.  But  some  time  after  that,  at  one  of 
the  White  House  receptions,  Mrs.  Grant  sought  me 
out  and  introduced  me  to  one  of  Mrs.  Sartoris 's  chil 
dren  as  one  of  their  grandfather's  secretaries — in 
which  capacity  I  did  once  act  for  a  short  time. 

It  was  very  largely  the  simple  kindliness  which 
Mrs.  Grant  showed  in  this  instance — and  which  they 
all  had — that  made  the  Grant  family  so  popular 
socially.  It  was  the  gayest,  brightest  of  adminis 
trations.  They  had  known  what  it  was  to  be  ham 
pered  by  narrow  means;  they  had  been  through  the 
terrors  and  anxieties  of  war ;  they  were  warm-hearted, 
hospitable  people — both  General  and  Mrs.  Grant 
thoroughly  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  making  their 
official  home  the  centre  of  a  large  hospitality. 

Two  international  events  served  to  add  to  the 
social  brilliancy  of  the  Grant  administrations.  One 

1 86 


FAMILY    LIFE    OF    THE    GRANTS 

was  the  coming  of  the  English  commissioners  to  delib 
erate  concerning  the  Alabama  difficulty  and  the 
Alaskan  boundary.  Their  coming  was  the  occasion 
of  much  entertaining.  I  imagine  that  while  their 
husbands  were  busy  with  the  political  questions,  the 
ladies  were  just  as  much  absorbed  in  planning  new 
costumes.  But  that  wasn't  anything  to  the  excite 
ment  occasioned  by  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
some  years  before.  Nothing  else  was  thought  of  for 
weeks.  There  was  a  brilliant  reception  and  ball 
given  by  Minister  and  Mrs.  Thornton.  The  President 
was  there,  although  he  came  late  and  refused  to 
dance  when  he  was  urged  to  do  it.  Just  why  any 
one  would  have  thought  General  Grant  would  dance 
is  a  mystery  to  me.  The  Prince  made  up  for  the 
President's  absence  from  the  ball-room  floor,  however, 
and  danced  tirelessly,  like  the  boy  His  Royal  High 
ness  was. 

The  public  receptions,  even,  had  an  informality 
that  pleased  people.  The  military  aids  that  are  so 
prominent  a  feature  of  the  state  receptions  now  were 
absent  then ;  there  were  not  as  many  uniforms  to  be 
seen  among  the  guests.  The  United  States  Marshal 
who  introduced  the  people  to  the  President  and  his 
wife  was  a  brother-in-law  of  the  President;  Miss 
Nellie, during  the  few  times  that  she  was  present,  wore 
always  a  simple  white  gown;  Col.  Fred  Grant's  hand 
some  young  wife  was  often  there — somehow  the  re 
ception  had  the  air  of  a  family  party. 

While  there  were  not  as  many  state  dinners  as 
during  the  preceding  administration,  there  were  more 

187 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

unofficial  affairs.  General  Grant  particularly  loved 
to  have  a  few  friends  to  dinner.  He  gave  everything 
a  more  personal  character  than  it  had  had  before— 
during  my  experience,  at  least.  He  chose  the  wines 
himself,  and  gave  directions  that  they  should  be 
of  the  proper  temperature.  General  Grant  was  an 
open-handed,  lavish  host.  I  remember  one  wine  bill 
which  impressed  me  very  much  at  the  time — $1800 
for  champagne  alone.  One  homely  instance  will 
show  the  President's  position  in  domestic  matters. 
Mr.  Borie,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  had  sent  Gen 
eral  Grant  some  particularly  fine  wine,  which  was 
stored  in  the  attic.  It  was  to  be  brought  out  for  one 
of  the  big  dinners,  and  the  President  went  himself,  with 
Henry  and  Edgar,  two  of  the  servants,  to  have  it 
drawn  off  into  eight  large  decanters.  On  the  way 
down  Henry  stumbled  and  fell,  breaking  the  four 
decanters  he  was  carrying.  The  President  turned 
and  looked  at  him,  but  didn't  express  his  feelings 
further.  When  they  got  down  -  stairs  General  Grant 
said  to  Beckley,  the  steward: 

"Get  four  other  decanters  and  go  to  the  garret 
and  fill  them,  but  don't  let  Henry  go  there  again!" 

Poor  Henry  confided  to  me  afterward  that  when 
the  General ' '  looked  at  him ' '  on  the  stairs  he  ' '  thought 
he  would  go  through  the  floor."  It  was  such  an  un 
usual  thing  for  the  President  to  find  fault  with  a  ser 
vant  that  it  made  a  great  impression  on  him. 


XI 

POLITICAL   DISSENSION 

WITH  the  politicians  President  Grant  was,  un 
fortunately,  not  as  popular  as  he  was  with  his 
friends.  He  had  not  been  President  two  years  before 
the  various  centres  of  discontent  began  to  organize 
in  a  concerted  movement  against  him.  When,  in  the 
second  administration,  there  began  to  be  rumors  that 
he  was  hoping  for  a  third  term,  his  enemies  were 
hysterical. 

There  were  many  factors  in  the  opposition  to  Gen 
eral  Grant,  and  many  causes  for  the  antagonism  of 
each  factor.  First  there  was  Charles  Sumner,  who 
had  been  an  enemy  almost  from  the  beginning  of  the 
first  administration.  He  had,  of  course,  causes  of 
complaint  —  honest  differences  of  opinion  with  Gen 
eral  Grant.  But,  more  than  that,  he  was  an  idealist, 
who  had  grown  into  a  chronic  state  of  disgust  with 
everything.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Sumner  had 
criticised  Lincoln  sincerely,  that  he  had  not  been 
loyal  to  him.  Sumner  also  considered  Johnson  per 
sonally  beneath  his  notice,  and  fought  the  man's 
measures  with  vehemence.  It  seemed  impossible  for 
Charles  Sumner  to  concur  with  the  Government. 
Had  he  been  an  Englishman  he  would  have  been  in- 

189 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

variably  a  leader  of  the  opposition.  Moreover,  in  at 
least  one  matter — the  Alabama  affair — it  is  evident 
that  President  Grant  and  Secretary  Fish  were  right 
and  Sumner  was  wrong.  Greeley  was  another  man 
who  was  born  to  protest.  Carl  Schurz  was  an  idealist 
who  was  pledged  to  oppose  autocracy  and  corruption 
wherever  he  found  them.  Both  of  these  evils  he  con 
sidered  to  be  represented,  at  this  time,  by  President 
Grant. 

Among  the  President's  enemies  there  were  several 
who  were  possibly  not  as  disinterested  in  their  oppo 
sition  as  were  Sumner  and  Schurz.  Mr.  Wilson,  Mr. 
Sumner 's  colleague  from  Massachusetts,  was  gener 
ally  considered  to  desire  the  Presidential  nomination. 
Senator  Trumbull  was  another  Presidential  possi 
bility.  He  had  been  one  of  those  who  voted 
against  the  impeachment  of  Andrew  Johnson,  and 
had  naturally  inherited  opposition  to  General 
Grant.  Just  before  the  Cincinnati  convention  in 
1876  Senator  Trumbull's  friends  talked  of  him  for 
General  Grant's  successor.  It  was  generally  un 
derstood  that  the  convention  would  nominate  either 
Trumbull  or  Charles  Francis  Adams.  I  do  not  know 
whether  Senator  Trumbull  really  hoped  for  the  honor, 
but  he  conducted  a  modest  sort  of  a  campaign.  He 
wrote  to  his  supporters  in  terms  which  suggested  dis 
approval  of  the  present  administration,  and  signified 
that  there  might  be  found  an  honest  man  who  would 
unite  the  disaffected  Republican  element — the  Liberal 
Republicans — with  the  Democrats.  Horace  Greeley 
also  wanted  the  position.  To  the  amazement  of  every  - 

190 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

body  but  his  lieutenants,  he  received  the  nomination 
of  the  Liberal  Republicans.  According  to  agreement, 
he  was  accepted  as  candidate  by  the  Democrats. 

Just  how  far  these  opponents  of  General  Grant's, 
interested  or  disinterested,  were  responsible  for  the 
great  epidemic  of  distrust  that  swept  over  the  land 
in  the  second  administration  I  have  no  way  of  know 
ing.  I  am  sure  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  were  to 
some  extent  responsible.  The  first  three  years  of 
the  first  administration  had  been  prosperous.  Cer 
tain  political  scandals  were  developed,  but  there  was 
nothing  for  which  any  thinking  man  could  consider 
the  President  responsible.  Then  the  leaders  of  the 
Liberal  Republican  movement  began  to  circulate 
stories  of  corruption.  As  far  back  as  1870  Senator 
Sumner  had  charged  General  Babcock  with  corruption 
in  such  a  way  as  to  reflect  on  the  President.  At  this 
time  there  had  been  nothing  against  Babcock's  repu 
tation.  Sumner  was  merely  angry  with  him  because 
Babcock's  report  on  the  San  Domingo  annexation 
project  had  been  favorable  to  the  President's  desire 
for  annexation,  with  regard  to  which  Senator  Sumner 
was  opposed  to  President  Grant.  The  Liberal  Re 
publicans  enlarged  upon  the  various  political  scandals 
until  they  made  their  constituents  believe  that  the 
President  was  responsible  for  measures  which  were 
entirely  due  to  dishonest  men  in  Congress.  They 
misrepresented,  as  I  have  already  said,  the  matter  of 
A.  T.  Stewart's  connection  with  the  fund  presented 
to  General  Grant.  Whether  the  President's  enemies 
believed  the  charges  that  they  made  or  not,  their 

191 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

reiteration  of  these  stories  of  corruption  created  a 
general  condition  of  distrust  which  had  much  to  do 
with  the  great  panic  of  1873,  in  which  so  many  fort 
unes  went  down. 

In  spite  of  their  activity,  the  opposition  could  not 
carry  the  election.  The  defeat  of  the  Greeley  party 
in  1872  proved  singularly  disastrous.  It  was  doubly 
fatal  to  Greeley  himself.  It  was  generally  believed 
that  he  was  killed  by  ridicule.  It  is  certain  that 
Nast's  cartoons  were  particularly  savage.  Greeley's 
personal  peculiarities  were  irresistible  to  a  fun -maker. 
The  caricatures  of  his  figure  and  his  long  whiskers, 
as  Nast  drew  them,  were  equal  to  arguments  against 
him.  I  remember  one  of  Nast's  cartoons  that  went 
all  over  the  country.  In  it  Grant's  head — more  im 
pressive  than  in  life — was  protruding  from  between 
the  curtains  of  an  old-fashioned  four-poster  bed. 
There  was  an  expression  of  fierce  indignation  on  his 
face  while  he  surveyed  Greeley,  just  in  the  act  of 
stealing  the  President's  boots.  Grant  was  supposed 
to  be  calling  out,  peremptorily: 

"Drop  them!" 

The  election  forced  poor  Greeley  to  "drop  them." 
The  circumstances  of  his  life  aggravated  his  natural 
disappointment.  Before  the  election  he  had  spent 
sleepless  nights  beside  the  bedside  of  his  dying  wife, 
whose  last  days  were  embittered  by  the  abuse  and 
ridicule  that  were  being  heaped  upon  her  husband. 
After  his  defeat  he  returned  to  his  lonely  home  and 
to  his  crippled  newspaper.  He  tried  to  take  up  his 
life  again,  but  he  was  worn  out  by  grief  and  over- 

192 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

work,  and  wounded  by  the  things  that  had  been 
said  and  written  about  him.  Less  than  a  month 
after  the  election  he  died,  a  broken-hearted  man. 

Charles  Sumner,  too,  was  a  wreck  of  the  election 
of  1872.  When  he  went  home  to  Massachusetts,  his 
constituents  and  neighbors  were  so  indignant  with 
him  and  his  desertion  of  the  Republican  Party  and 
alliance  with  the  Democrats  that  he  was  publicly 
reprimanded.  This  disgrace  for  the  proud  man  who 
had  been  the  idol  of  his  State,  and  at  one  time  of  his 
party,  together  with  his  own  domestic  unhappiness 
brought  him  into  a  state  of  intense  despondency, 
which  was  one  of  the  main  causes  of  his  death. 

Some  men  say  that  the  election  of  1872,  in  which 
General  Grant  won  rather  by  the  weakness  of  his 
adversary  than  by  his  own  strength,  proved  the  cause 
of  the  death,  not  of  his  body,  but  of  that  greater 
thing:  his  claim  to  the  respect  of  his  countrymen; 
for  it  was  in  the  years  of  his  continued  lease  of  power 
that  the  great  scandals  culminated  which  made  men 
say  that  President  Grant,  even  if  he  were  not  him 
self  dishonest,  was  ruled  by  men  who  were.  It  was 
in  the  second  administration  that  Belknap  was  Secre 
tary  of  War,  and  it  was  in  1875  that  the  Whiskey 
Ring  conspiracy  was  first  suspected.  These  two  things 
alone,  they  say,  have  destroyed  General  Grant's  repu 
tation  as  an  executive. 

I  do  not  agree  with  these  critics  of  President  Grant. 
I  believe  that  the  mistakes  he  made  were  on  the  side 
of  greatness.  Mere  keenness  of  insight  is  not  as 
great  a  thing  as  the  capacity  for  belief  in  a  man  when 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

appearances  and  the  majority  are  against  him. 
General  Grant  was  loyal  to  both  Belknap  and  Bab- 
cock  when  to  be  loyal  meant  his  own  political  ruin. 
He  has  been  generally  blamed  for  his  support  of  them. 
I  admire  him  for  it.  I  believe,  moreover,  that  there 
were  more  reasons  for  his  action  than  have  yet  been 
made  public. 

With  regard  to  the  Whiskey  Ring  scandal,  which 
involved  General  Babcock  as  well  as  a  group  of  men 
not  officially  connected  with  the  administration, 
while  this  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  it,  there  are 
certain  things  that  have  weight  with  me. 

President  Grant  believed  so  strongly  in  General 
Babcock's  innocence  that  I  couldn't  help  thinking  that 
there  must  be  some  good  reason  for  it.  I  have  heard 
it  said  that  General  Grant  was  blind  where  his  friends 
were  concerned.  But  he  wasn't  blind  toward  the  dis 
loyalty  of  other  men  who  proved  false  to  him  during 
the  eight  years  of  his  Presidency.  There  are,  several 
instances  of  his  severity  where  he  found  he  had  been 
betrayed.  The  case  of  Postmaster  Jewell ,  in  the  second 
administration,  was  one  of  these.  When  Mr.  Jewell's 
resignation  was  asked  for  there  was  agitation  in  the 
newspapers  and  throughout  the  party  generally.  The 
query,  "Why  did  the  President  demand  Postmaster- 
General  Jewell's  resignation?"  for  a  time  took  the 
place  of  "What  has  become  of  Charley  Ross?"  which 
was  the  mystery  of  the  day.  Mr.  Jewell  himself  did 
not  assign  any  reason  to  the  newspaper  reporters  who 
went  to  him.  An  experience  of  mine  may  throw  some 
light  on  the  matter. 

194 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

The  President  had  a  fashion  of  writing  recommen 
dations  with  regard  to  appointments  on  cards,  and 
sending  them  off  to  the  various  heads  of  departments. 
It  happened  that  one  man  whose  appointment  had 
been  recommended  in  this  way  to  Postmaster-Gen 
eral  Jewell  did  not  receive  the  appointment,  as  he 
had  expected.  He  came  to  me  with  his  complaint — 
for  I  had  been  interested  in  his  case,  and  had  sent 
him  to  the  President.  It  seems  that  Mr.  Jewell  had, 
in  his  presence,  torn  the  card  to  pieces,  saying: 

" Grant  hasn't  any  influence  in  this  department." 

I  had  heard  of  other  instances  of  the  same  thing. 
It  didn't  seem  to  me  that  that  was  quite  the  fashion 
in  which  recommendations  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  should  be  treated.  I  advised  the  man 
to  go  in  and  tell  the  President  his  story.  The  result 
was  that  General  Grant  investigated  the  matter.  The 
next  day  Postmaster-General  Jewell  was  asked  to  resign. 

Therefore,  it  meant  a  good  deal  to  me  when  the 
President  continued  to  believe  in  General  Babcock 
after  everything  had  been  brought  against  him  that 
could  be  brought. 

Then,  too,  for  my  part,  General  Babcock  always 
seemed  to  me  to  be  an  honest  man — an  honorable 
and  a  high-minded  one.  Again,  I  must  admit  that  it 
is  possible  that  I  may  have  been  prejudiced  in  his 
favor.  General  Babcock  was  very  kind  to  me  on 
more  than  one  occasion. 

One  of  these  times  was  when  a  celebrated  lawyer 
came  into  the  office  and  told  us  of  a  marvellous  mine 
in  which  he  was  interested.  It  was  the  chance  of 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

our  lives  to  make  a  fortune,  he  said.  I  had  no 
money,  but  I  was  so  anxious  to  have  a  share  in  this 
"sure  thing"  that  I  asked  Mr.  Babcock  if  he  would 
advance  me  the  money.  He  loaned  me  a  thousand 
dollars  with  only  my  note  as  security.  I  paid  it 
back  by  degrees.  As  it  turned  out,  not  only  that 
money  was  lost,  but  the  stockholders  lost  by  later 
assessments.  I  think  that  the  man  who  got  us  into 
it  believed  fully  in  his  mine,  but  it  was  rather  hard 
on  all  of  us.  However,  the  point  of  the  story  is  that 
General  Babcock  was  a  friend  in  this  case. 

The  General  was  not  a  man  who  seemed  to  care 
particularly  for  luxury — there  was  no  motive  of  that 
sort  to  fall  from  honor.  He  showed  no  signs  of  sud 
den  wealth  in  his  manner  of  living.  He  certainly 
never,  as  far  as  I  know,  sported  the  diamond  that 
MacDonald  was  supposed  to  have  given  him.  If  the 
general  opinion  of  men  who  were  merely  onlookers 
but  closely  associated  with  the  principals  is  of  any 
value,  it  was  generally  believed  about  the  White 
House  and  other  Government  departments  that  Gen 
eral  Babcock  was  innocent.  Moreover,  it  was  gen 
erally  understood  that  Secretary  Bristow,  to  further 
his  own  Presidential  aspirations,  aimed  to  discredit 
Grant  by  destroying  Babcock.  Every  one  thought 
that  he  wanted  the  Presidency,  and  was  playing  the 
part  of  reformer  to  catch  the  popular  favor.  This 
was  an  easy  role,  for  the  people  at  large  were  sickened 
by  stories  of  corruption. 

Personally — I  might  as  well  state  it  at  the  outset — 
I  disliked  Mr.  Bristow.  He  was  a  big,  beefy,  over- 

196 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

grown  man  who  seemed  to  me  to  be  trying  to  bully 
every  one.  But  his  man  Friday,  Bluford  Wilson,  the 
Solicitor  of  the  Treasury,  was  worse  than  he.  We 
all  thought  that  Wilson  did  the  dirty  work  for  Bris- 
tow.  He  looked  the  part.  He  was  small  and  dark 
and  secretive  —  a  real  human  weasel,  was  Wilson. 
This  may  be  all  prejudice  on  my  part,  but  see  the 
part  the  man  played  in  the  whiskey  prosecutions! 
And  by  means  of  the  whiskey  agitation,  Bristow  and 
Wilson  exalted  the  dishonesty  of  a  few  corrupt  men 
into  a  national  conspiracy  while  they  themselves 
posed  as  reformers.  They  were  very  nearly  success 
ful;  but  they  overreached  themselves.  Senator  Sher 
man  said,  before  Hayes  was  seriously  considered, 
that  Bristow  would  have  been  the  logical  candidate 
in  1876  had  any  one  believed  that  he  was  honest. 
And  it  was  during  the  latter  part  of  the  whiskey 
prosecution  that  Bristow  revealed  himself. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  trial  the  President  heartily 
co-operated  with  Secretary  Bristow.  In  fact,  as  I 
have  said,  Bristow  was  promoted  from  a  subordinate 
position  in  the  Treasury  with  the  distinct  idea  that 
he  was  zealous  and  would  bring  about  much-needed 
reforms.  It  was  not  only  the  President  who  felt 
this,  but  his  private  secretaries,  the  very  men  who 
were  afterward  accused  of  being  in  collusion  with 
the  Whiskey  Ring,  and,  like  Avery,  of  furnishing  in 
formation.  I  have  seen  a  letter  from  Luckey  written 
to  Minister  Washburne,  in  which  he  says : 

Mr.  Bristow  is  starting  in  on  his  good  work  in  the  de 
partment,  and  will  purify  it. 

197 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

The  first  cause  of  friction  between  the  President 
and  his  reforming  Secretary  occurred  in  consequence 
of  a  remark  made  by  ex-Senator  J.  B.  Henderson, 
who  had  been  appointed  special  counsel  for  the  Gov 
ernment  in  the  trial  of  A  very.  Henderson  hinted  at 
the  President's  complicity — with  Babcock — in  the 
whiskey  frauds.  The  President  naturally  demanded 
that  Mr.  Henderson  should  be  removed,  and  was  sup 
ported  by  the  opinion  of  the  whole  cabinet.  While 
Bristow,  as  a  member  of  the  cabinet,  was  forced  to 
concur  in  this,  Bluford  Wilson,  his  mouthpiece,  pro 
tested  against  Henderson's  removal,  taking  the  re 
markable  position  that  the  success  of  the  Govern 
ment's  case  depended  upon  his  serving.  Henderson, 
of  course,  was  removed. 

The  next  matter  in  which  the  Secretary  and  Blu 
ford  Wilson  showed  their  colors  was  in  relation  to 
the  Barnard  letter.  Barnard  had  written  to  Bristow, 
and  Bristow  had  submitted  the  letter  to  Grant,  in 
reference  to  the  whiskey  trials  and  to  the  charges 
against  Babcock.  His  letter  was  of  no  special  sig 
nificance,  but  General  Grant  wrote  an  indorsement 
on  the  back: 

Let  no  guilty  man  escape  if  it  can  be  avoided.  Be  es 
pecially  vigilant  —  or  instruct  those  employed  in  the  prose 
cution  of  fraud  to  be — against  all  who  insinuate  that  they 
have  high  influence  to  protect  them.  No  personal  con 
siderations  should  stand  in  the  way  of  performing  a  public 
trust.  U.  S.  GRANT. 

This  perfectly  clear  statement  of  the  position  of 
an  honest  man,  Bristow  and  Wilson — wherever  they 

198 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

could  without  detection — reported,  was  obtained  from 
the  President  with  great  difficulty  and  with  every  sign 
of  anger.  Afterward,  under  the  Congressional  exam 
ination,  Bluford  Wilson  could  not  remember  having 
made  such  a  statement. 

A  far  more  serious  disagreement  arose  between  Sec 
retary  Bristow  and  the  President  over  the  manner 
of  conducting  the  St.  Louis  trials;  for  Bristow  and 
District-Attorney  Dyer  desired  to  allow  the  mass  of 
the  thieves  to  go  free,  provided  they  would  turn 
state's  evidence  and  testify  against  some  one  else. 
Joyce  states  that  he  was  promised  immunity  if  he 
would  testify  against  Babcock.  This  offer  was  said  to 
have  been  made  in  an  interview  with  Bristow,  in  which 
the  Secretary  told  Joyce  that  he  really  had  a  great 
regard  for  him  and  didn't  want  to  see  him  get  into 
trouble.  Joyce's  word  alone  would  not  be  conclusive, 
but  it  was  backed  up  by  the  testimony  of  many  of  the 
witnesses  at  the  trial.  Joyce  had  enough  manhood 
not  to  be  willing  to  save  himself  by  turning  traitor. 
He  refused  Bristow's  offer  and  went  to  prison. 

The  practice  of  allowing  the  humbler  criminals  to 
go  free  providing  they  would  testify  against  the 
greater  became  so  generally  used  that  the  President's 
attention  was  attracted,  and  he  became  very  in 
dignant. 

"I  cannot  see  why  nine  thieves  should  go  unpun 
ished  in  order  to  catch  the  tenth,"  he  said. 

That  Bluford  Wilson  did  all  he  could  to  make  it  the 
purpose  of  the  prosecution  not,  primarily,  to  secure 
justice,  but  to  inculpate  General  Babcock  and  Luckey, 

199 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

and,  by  implication,  the  President,  was  proved  by  a 
letter  which  was  writ  ten  by  the  Solicitor  of  the  Treasury 
to  General  Henderson  while  he  was  still  the  prosecut 
ing  attorney.  In  it  Wilson  suggested  that  it  was  nec 
essary  to  look  for  the  real  offenders  in  the  "W.  H." — 
by  which  he  of  course  meant  the  White  House.  In 
the  Congressional  investigation,  when  the  letter  was 
made  public,  Wilson  attempted  to  prove  that  the  let 
ter  had  been  tampered  with,  and  "High up"  changed 
to  "W.  H."  But  I  think  nobody  believed  him. 

It  cannot  be  imagined  that  the  President  could 
have  honorably  taken  any  other  course — had  General 
Babcock  been  his  enemy  instead  of  his  friend — than 
to  protest  against  such  methods  as  these.  And  pro 
test  he  did,  by  causing  the  Attorney-General  to  write 
a  letter  to  the  counsel  expressing  disapproval  of  their 
course.  No  one  of  General  Grant's  straightforward 
temperament  could  have  done  otherwise.  The  prose 
cution's  method  of  inviting  perjury  threw  discredit 
upon  the  earlier  trial,  and  made  it  impossible  to  ac 
cept  without  question  most  of  the  testimony  that 
led  up  to  the  indictment  of  Babcock. 

Whether,  therefore,  Secretary  Bristow  believed  in 
General  Babcock's  guilt  or  not,  his  methods  were 
equally  questionable.  In  interviews  with  news 
paper  correspondents  and  with  the  general  public, 
while  he  protested  his  belief  in  the  innocence  of  the 
President  so  loudly  as  to  call  universal  attention  to 
the  charges,  he  managed  to  convey  the  impression  that 
he  was  shielding  a  superior  to  whom  he  owed  official 
allegiance.  He  harped  upon  the  inside  knowledge 

200 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

which,  he  claimed,  Babcock  possessed,  of  executive 
actions,  in  order  to  convey  the  impression  that  such 
knowledge  could  be  explained  only  by  there  being 
guilty  collusion  between  General  Grant  and  his  private 
secretary. 

In  the  Congressional  investigation  that  followed 
the  trial  Bluford  Wilson  was  discredited,  in  the  mind 
of  every  man  in  the  city  of  Washington.  He  at 
tempted  to  deny  having  made  the  statement  with  re 
gard  to  the  reluctance  and  anger  with  which  General 
Grant  had  written  his  famous  "Let  no  guilty  man 
escape."  But  there  were  too  many  witnesses  to  his 
having  made  the  charge  to  allow  his  denial  to  stand. 
Another  transaction  was  laid  bare.  When  Wilson  left 
the  Treasury — as  he  was  obliged  to  do  soon  after  the 
St.  Louis  trial — he  attempted  to  keep,  among  the  papers 
that  he  packed  to  take  away,  the  Barnard  letter  with 
its  indorsement.  One  of  the  men  in  the  office  in 
formed  Assistant  Secretary  C.  C.  Sniffen  (now  Pay 
master-General,  U.  S.  A.),  who  immediately  sent  an 
order  that  no  official  papers  should  be  taken  away. 
I  presume  the  letter  would  have  been  conveniently 
"lost"  had  this  action  not  been  taken,  and,  with  it, 
a  valuable  proof  of  the  President's  integrity.  It  was 
shown  that  Bluford  Wilson  had  ordered  three  boxes 
of  papers  sent  to  his  home,  among  them  many  docu 
ments  which  belonged  to  the  Treasury  Department. 
He  stated,  in  defence,  that  this  was  owing  to  the 
mistake  of  a  subordinate. 

Another  misstatement  for  which  Wilson  had  been 
responsible  was  disproved.     He   had  attempted   to 

14  20 1 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

provide  a  motive  for  Babcock's  supposed  attempt  to 
make  money  out  of  the  Whiskey  Ring  by  circulating 
the  report  that  Babcock,  as  well  as  Porter,  had  lost 
in  the  "Black  Friday"  gold  speculation.  Porter 
proved  that  he  had  no  connection  with  it,  and  Mr. 
Wilson  had  to  confess  himself  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  General  Babcock  had  been  in  San  Domingo  on 
a  mission  for  the  President  during  the  whole  period. 
It  was  also  developed  that  Wilson — acting  for  Bristow 
— had  attempted  to  fasten  complicity  in  the  whiskey 
conspiracy  on  both  General  Logan  and  Farwell.  Gen 
eral  Logan,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  a  widely 
popular  war  hero,  and  had  been  spoken  of  in  some 
quarters  for  the  Presidency. 

As  for  Secretary  Bristow' s  own  Presidential  aspira 
tions,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  existed,  and 
that  they  furnished  the  motive  for  his  attitude  toward 
Babcock  and  President  Grant.  In  addition  to  all 
this  indirect  proof,  it  was  developed,  also  in  the  Con 
gressional  investigation,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  that 
Bluford  Wilson  had  told  one  of  the  revenue  officers — 
subordinate  to  the  Treasury  Department — that  they 
must  "stop  that  damned  Blaine  business,"  which 
meant,  of  course,  the  Blaine  boom.  The  man  testi 
fied  that  this  was  told  in  such  a  manner  that  he  con 
sidered  it  a  threat.  Wilson  also  said  that  Bristow 
was  the  man  for  President  and  they  proposed  to 
make  him  so. 

At  one  time  it  had  appeared  that  Bristow  would 
be  successful.  He  was  praised  as  all  that  was  the 
opposite  of  the  reported  corruption.  But  his  con- 

202 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

duct  of  the  whiskey  trials,  and  the  consequent  dis 
closures  of  the  investigation,  killed  his  political  hopes. 
He  made  as  poor  a  figure  in  them  as  Wilson  had  done. 
He  had  pleaded  that,  as  a  cabinet  officer,  he  was 
pledged  to  secrecy,  and  so  could  not  speak  of  what  had 
passed  between  the  President  and  himself.  But  the 
President,  with  characteristic  directness,  published 
an  open  le  ter  to  him  removing  all  restrictions.  So 
he  couldn't  shelter  himself  behind  that  excuse,  and 
pretend  that  "if  he  could  tell  all"  it  would  be  very 
dark  for  President  Grant — very  dark  indeed! 

Whatever  his  convictions — and  it  is  quite  probable 
that  Bristow  did  believe  in  the  guilt  of  Bab  cock- 
it  was  true  beyond  a  doubt  that  Secretary  Bristow 
had  used  the  whiskey  scandals  to  promote  his  own 
ambitions  and  to  destroy  the  man  who  had  confided 
to  him  one  of  the  highest  positions  in  a  President's 
command.  He  was  proved  also  to  have  used — or  to 
have  connived  at  —  dishonorable  methods.  He  was 
lowered  in  the  general  estimation. 

I  know  I  had  been  hoping  pretty  vigorously,  long 
before  this  stage  in  the  proceedings,  that  the  Presi 
dent  would  understand  both  Bluford  Wilson  and 
Secretary  Bristow,  and  protect  himself.  I  believe  I 
stated  that  I  disliked  Mr.  Bristow.  I  felt  that  he 
was  traitorous  to  the  President.  I  wanted  to  tell 
the  President  so,  but,  of  course,  I  couldn't  say  any 
thing.  If  a  subordinate  like  myself  had  dared  to 
speak  to  General  Grant  of  such  a  matter,  it  would 
have  seemed  like  presumption,  and  I  would  probably 
have  lost  my  place.  Yet  when  Mr.  Bristow  would 

203 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

come  to  the  White  House  for  a  conference  and  bring 
Wilson,  and  Wilson  would  watch  the  President,  trying 
hard  to  hear  a  word  that  he  could  distort  into  some 
thing  hurtful  to  that  frank  and  generous  man — well, 
it  was  hard  to  keep  still. 

So  one  day  when  General  Grant  called  me  to  him 
and  told  me  to  go  to  Bristow  and  ask  him  to  come 
over,  I  stood  there  with  the  words  on  the  tip  of  my 
tongue,  and  trying  hard  not  to  let  them  get  out. 
Then  the  President  raised  his  eyes.  He  looked  angry 
clear  through. 

''And  tell  Mr.  Bristow,"  he  added,  and  his  eyes 
gleamed  as  he  spoke,  "not  to  bring  that" — he  hesi 
tated  a  moment — "that  Bluford  Wilson  with  him 
again." 

I  went  off,  feeling  that  he  was  beginning  to  under 
stand.  I  imagine  I  walked  rather  jauntily  over  to 
the  Secretary's  office.  When  I  stood  before  Mr. 
Bristow  I  repeated  the  message.  I  said  it  word  for 
word,  and  I  reproduced  the  President's  tone,  too, 
pretty  accurately.  Nobody  on  the  stage  could  have 
done  it  any  better.  Bristow  evidently  felt  just  what 
I  was  so  pleased  to  convey.  He  turned  fiercely  red, 
and  hadn't  a  word  to  say.  But  if  my  position  had 
been  in  the  Treasury  Department  my  head  would 
have  been  off  before  night. 

A  short  time  after  this  Secretary  Bristow  resigned 
his  position  and  went  to  New  York  to  live. 

After  the  St.  Louis  trial  General  Babcock  came 
back  to  the  White  House  and  held  his  position  as 
private  secretary  there  just  long  enough  to  demon- 

204 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

strate  to  the  world  that  the  President  believed  in  his 
innocence.  It  was,  of  course,  impossible  for  him  to 
hold  it,  since  many  persons  believed  him  guilty.  He 
filled  for  a  short  time  his  old  position  of  Superintend 
ent  of  Buildings  and  Grounds,  while  Mr.  Luckey  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  the  Territory  of  Utah.  I  have 
several  letters  from  Mr.  Luckey,  which  he  wrote  me 
while  he  filled  that  position,  describing  the  conditions 
in  the  Mormon  State.  The  secretaryship  was  filled  by 
the  President's  son.  Ulysses  was  a  good  secretary. 
He  was  like  his  father  in  temperament,  and  much 
beloved.  The  reason  of  this  fact  is  not  far  to  seek 
when  one  recalls  incidents  of  his  thoughtfulness. 
While  the  family  was  away  in  Pennsylvania,  during 
the  summer  of  1876,  when  I  was  acting  secretary,  I 
received,  of  course,  a  good  many  letters  from  both 
General  Grant  and  Ulysses.  In  one  of  the  latter's 
notes  he  asked  me  to  have  flowers  sent  regularly  to 
them  from  the  White  House  conservatories.  And 
in  the  postscript  he  says: 

Order  some  for  yourself  whenever  you  want  them. 

Immediately  after  the  verdict  of  acquittal  of 
General  Babcock  at  St.  Louis,  a  second  attack 
was  made  upon  him.  This  time  his  honesty  as 
Superintendent  of  Buildings  and  Grounds  was  ques 
tioned.  I  think  it  will  be  felt  that  I  am  not  over 
stating  the  case  when  I  say  that  disclosures  made  in 
connection  with  this  affair  show  that  a  conspiracy 
against  him  undoubtedly  existed.  And  the  object 
of  that  conspiracy  of  General  Babcock's  enemies  was 

205 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

to  complete  the  ruin  that  the  whiskey  trials  had 
begun. 

The  attack  began  by  a  charge  that  General  Babcock 
had  submitted  false  measurements.  In  producing 
answer  a  book  of  evidence  was  submitted  by  a  man 
named  Evans.  This  evidence  was  assailed  by 
the  prosecution  as  not  being  the  original  book, 
but  a  falsification.  It  was,  in  common  with  other 
evidence  in  the  case,  in  the  possession  of  Harring 
ton,  the  Assistant  District  Attorney.  Suddenly 
everybody  was  startled  by  the  news  that  the  office 
of  Harrington  had  been  opened,  the  safe  rifled, 
and  the  evidence  against  Babcock  removed.  The 
statement  was  immediately  circulated  that  Babcock 
had  caused  it  to  be  done  to  destroy  incriminating 
evidence.  The  public  was,  very  naturally,  ready  to 
believe  it  because  of  the  dubious  light  in  which  Gen 
eral  Babcock  still  stood.  The  robbery  occurred  on 
the  loth  of  March,  about  two  weeks  after  the  verdict 
at  St.  Louis. 

While  these  rumors  were  in  the  air,  an  article  appear 
ed  in  the  New  York  Sun  charging  that  a  man  named 
Whitley,  the  Chief  of  the  New  York  Secret  Service— 
who  had  very  recently  been  displaced  as  Chief  of  the 
Secret  Service  in  Washington — was  connected  with 
the  safe  burglary.  Whitley  came  on  to  Washington. 
He  asked  for  immunity  if  he  would  tell  all  he  knew. 
Before  the  District  Attorney  he  stated  that  he  had 
performed  the  robbery  at  the  instigation  of  General 
Babcock.  On  the  i6th  of  April  General  Babcock 
was  indicted,  with  Harrington,  for  complicity  in  the 

206 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

safe  burglary.     The  trial  went  over  until  the  follow 
ing  September. 

At  the  trial  in  September  the  accusation  dwindled 
down  in  the  most  amazing  manner.     Whitley  began 
bravely  enough  by  stating  that  he  had  undertaken 
the  matter  at  the  request  of  Babcock.     He  had  em 
ployed  several  men,  some  of  them  detectives,  and 
some  of  them  expert  burglars  whom  the  Chief  of  the 
New  York  Secret  Service  knew,  apparently,  how  to 
make  useful.     The  object  of  the  burglary,  Whitley 
stated,  was  to  steal  the  Evans  evidence,  take  it  to 
the  prosecution  with  the  statement  that  it  was  the 
real,  not  the  spurious  evidence,  and  submit  it.     This 
was  to  ''turn  the  laugh"  on  the  prosecution  when 
they  had  accepted  what  they  before  had  declared 
a  falsification.     It   is   amazing   that   any  sane  man 
could  have  thought  a  tale  like  this  would  be  believed. 
Under    cross-examination    Whitley    broke    down 
completely.     He  was  forced  to  admit  that  he  had 
been   promised   immunity   in   return   for    testimony 
against  Babcock.     He  could  prove  collusion  with  no 
one  but  Harrington.     The  only  proof  of  collusion 
with  General  Babcock  was  that,  when  on  one  occasion 
he  had  gone  to  Babcock  to  get  his  assistance  in  col 
lecting  back  pay,  Babcock  had  sent  him  to  Harring 
ton;  and  Harrington  was  the  man  who  had  proposed 
the  plan  to  him.     Whitley  had  "inferred"  that  the 
scheme  was  Babcock's.     In  short,  Whitley  revealed 
himself  to  be  a  tool  for  sale  to  the  highest  bidder,  and 
for  use  in  any  rascality.     The   trial   closed  with  a 
vindication  of  General  Babcock.     But  it  left  every 

207 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

one  confused  as  to  the  motive  that  could  have  in 
duced  Whitley  and  Harrington — if  it  were  true  that 
Harrington  was  really  involved  in  the  matter  at  all— 
to  undertake  such  a  project.  Nor  could  the  public  un 
derstand  why  a  man  who  had  had  experience  in  crim 
inal  cases  could  have  made  a  charge  against  General 
Babcock  when  he  had  nothing  with  which  to  support  it. 

Some  time  after  this  all  happened  I  got  possession 
of  a  letter  from  William  P.  Wood,  a  former  chief  of 
the  Secret  Service  in  the  Treasury  Department.  He 
was  the  man  who,  in  the  administration  of  Andrew 
Johnson,  was  discovered  to  have  offered  $10,000  for 
letters  proving  collusion  between  Jefferson  Davis  and 
Johnson.  Wood  had  been  dismissed  from  the  service, 
and  had  devoted  himself  since  that  time,  according 
to  his  own  story,  in  attacking  the  administration 
wherever  he  could.  Samuel  M.  Felker  was  trying  to 
get  the  position  of  Chief  of  Secret  Service  away  from 
Washburn,  who  had  succeeded  Whitley.  Felker  had 
evidently  told  Wood  that  he  had  the  promise  of  the 
position  from  Grant.  He  seemed  to  think  that  he 
could  secure  favor  with  the  President  by  being  the 
means  of  producing  evidence  favorable  to  Babcock. 
This  evidence  he  thought  Wood  possessed.  The  let 
ter  is  a  long  one.  I  can  only  quote  certain  pas 
sages  : 

TAYLOR'S  HOTEL,  September  24,  1876. 
Samuel  M.  Felker,  Esq.: 

DEAR  SAM, — I  received  your  letter  of  the  2ist  inst.  re 
questing  me  to  come  to  Washington  at  once.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  believe  you  ever  received  such  a  promise  from 
the  President,  and  I  do  not  believe  you  will  receive  the 

208 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

appointment.  Thus  I  cordially  express  to  you  my  doubts, 
because  of  various  delays  invented.  You  now  cunningly 
write  me  a  letter  to  coax  me  on  to  Washington  to  break  up 
a  conspiracy  and  exonerate  General  Babcock  from  all  con 
nection  with  the  so-called  Safe  Burglary,  and  when  the  trial 
is  over  you  will  surely  be  appointed ;  how  easy  are  promises 
made — how  seldom  are  they  fulfilled — would  make  a  text  for 
the  Reverend  Doctor  Newman.  .  .  .  While  it  is  not  a  matter 
of  commendation,  you  are  fully  aware  of  my  ability  and 
intent  to  do  serious  damage  to  the  present  administration, 
by  aiming  at  General  Babcock  and  Mr.  Luckey  in  certain 
matters  coming  within  the  range  of  my  aptitude.  .  .  . 

I  had  no  special  cause  for  personal  attack  on  General 
Grant,  but  as  he  countenanced  the  treatment  put  upon  me 
by  Mr.  Boutwell  .  .  .  personally  I  believe  him  to  be  an  hon 
est,  conscientious  gentleman,  and  yet  feeling  the  disgrace 
put  upon  me  by  his  advisers,  I  have  for  years  toiled  with 
untiring  perseverance  to  strike  at  every  official  act  or  short 
coming  of  his  subordinates.  .  .  .  You  have  more  than  once 
deceived  me  into  a  belief  that  the  President  would  cause 
your  appointment  to  be  made — this  was  subterfuge — for  he 
would  certainly  not  himself  have  promised  you  and  then 
put  you  off — such  are  not  his  characteristics.  .  .  . 

You  brought  Whitley,  Washburn  (present  chief),  and  my 
self  into  one  special  arrangement.  .  .  .  You  are  aware  of  the 
prompt  manner  I  faithfully  performed  all  and  more  than 
I  conditioned  in  conjunction  with  and  for  the  benefit  of 
Mr.  Washburn,  and  how  he  subsequently,  with  his  low, 
infamous  trickery  ever  predominating,  has  yet  failed  to  fill 
the  part  which  the  S.  S.  Division  conditioned  with  me  to 
perform — instead  of  which  he  instituted  the  most  infamous 
proceedings  against  George  A.  Mason,  whom  he  caused  to 
be  sent  to  the  Penitentiary  after  the  said  Mason  had  ren 
dered  the  S.  S.  Division  the  most  valuable  and  important 
service,  and  in  which  service  he  nearly  lost  his  life  .  .  .  and 
Washburn 's  natural  cowardice  and  dread  of  Mason  incited 
by  the  vindictive  spirit  of  this  long,  slim  fellow  (Wash- 
burn),  who  toadied  with  Wilson  as  co-laborer  and  co-plotter 
against  his  superiors  of  the  National  Administration.  .  .  .  Such 

209 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

examples  make  me  question  every  movement  I  may  be  in 
vited  or  solicited  to  entertain.  .  .  . 

This  is  the  condition,  and  the  only  one,  on  which  I  will 
show  up  the  whole  of  the  Safe  Burglary  conspiracy,  and  that 
in  such  a  manner  as  will  fully  and  positively  exonerate  General 
Babcock  from  any  and  all  connection  with  the  so-called  Safe 
Burglary,  fully  supporting  the  same  with  my  own  evidence, 
which  will  fully  explode  the  whole  bubble;  you  are  suffi 
ciently  aware  of  the  details  of  the  job  to  know  that  Whitley 
himself,  although  he  was  the  originator  and  sole  schemer 
in  the  affair,  would  not  have  been  suspicioned,  had  I  not  bar 
gained  and  arranged  with  Bluford  Wilson  (then  solicitor)  to 
give  that  publicity  in  the  Sun  to  the  matter  which  it  sub 
sequently  received;  you  can  thus  infer  how  complete  a 
vindication  of  General  Babcock  can  be  made  with  the 
evidence  at  my  command.  .  .  .  W.  A.  Cook,  Esq.,  tried  to 
glean  from  me  sufficient  details  to  make  such  a  defence  as 
he  believed  he  could  do  with  my  assistance  and  evidence. 
But  he  is  not  possessed  with  what  he  wants,  and  I  know  the 
case  cannot  be  properly  made  up  without  my  evidence 
and  assistance. 

I  owe  the  present  administration  no  allegiance,  no  grati 
tude,  no  obligation  or  reverence,  and  have  it  yet  in  my 
power  to  do  much  damage;  there  are  matters  not  yet  too 
late  for  trouble  or  too  private  for  publicity,  which  I  in 
tended  for  the  Sun.  You  persuaded  me  out  of  that  with 
more  of  your  sophistry,  but  now  Mr.  Dana  urges  me  in  the 
most  coaxing  style  for  the  subject,  together  with  the  papers 
(which  are  not  destroyed  as  supposed),  for  which  he  offers 
me  a  very  liberal  sum  ($5000).  .  .  .  This  letter  must  not  get 
into  the  possession  of  any  one — no  copy  or  extract  must  be 
taken  therefrom. 

As  ever,   your  friend, 

WM.  P.  WOOD. 


I  have  wished  to  call  attention  to  this  letter  for 
several  reasons.  It  reveals  the  part  that  the  Secret 
Service  was  playing  and  had  played  in  the  whiskey 

210 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

trials  and  the  safe  burglary.  Bell  and  Yaryan,  who 
brought  testimony  to  the  trial  at  St.  Louis  which 
would  have  been  damaging  to  Babcock  had  it  not 
been  discredited,  were  Secret  Service  men.  They 
had  undoubtedly  sold  their  testimony,  just  as  Wood 
was  ready  either  to  sell  information  to  the  Sun  which 
would  attack  Babcock  and  the  administration,  or,  for 
some  less  tangible  bribes — probably  a  position  in  the 
Secret  Service  if  Felker  succeeded — to  furnish  testi 
mony  which  would  clear  Babcock.  It  is  not  wise  to 
believe  the  statements  of  such  men  as  these,  unless 
there  are  other  facts  to  substantiate  them.  But  there 
are  other  points  which  tend  to  prove  that  something 
of  what  Wood  says  was  true.  And  I  submit  it  as  a 
clue  which  other  men  whose  business  is  historical 
research  may  follow  up. 

Just  before  the  close  of  President  Grant's  adminis 
tration,  General  Babcock  was  made  Superintendent 
of  the  Lighthouse  Board,  and  Mr.  Luckey  resigned 
his  place  as  Secretary  of  Utah  to  take  one  under 
General  Babcock.  I  once  went  down  to  Fortress  Mon 
roe,  where  General  Babcock  had  his  headquarters, 
to  visit  him.  He  entertained  me  generously,  taking 
me  around  in  the  boats  of  the  Service,  and  showing 
me  all  the  sights. 

It  was  a  comparatively  short  time  after  this  that 
he  was  drowned.  Mr.  Luckey  was  with  him.  They 
were  just  off  Key  West,  where  they  had  sailed  on  a 
trip  of  inspection,  when  they  were  overtaken  by  a 
storm  and  went  down — together. 

I  have  in  my  possession  the  official  paper  on  which 

211 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

is  entered  General  Babcock's  assignment  to  office  as 
the  President's  private  secretary.  It  contains  also  the 
entry  of  his  application  for  relief  from  the  assign 
ment,  indorsed  by  General  Grant.  In  addition  are 
these  words  in  General  Grant's  own  handwriting: 

For  faithful  and  efficient  service  as  private  secretary  for 
more  than  six  years  of  my  two  terms  of  office,  he  has  my 
acknowledgment  and  thanks,  and  the  assurance  of  my  con 
fidence  and  great  efficiency. 

U.  S.  GRANT. 

That  was  the  way  President  Grant  was  loyal  to  his 
friends — there  never  was  a  more  steadfast  man.  If 
it  meant  nothing  more  than  that  he  was  capable  of 
believing  in  men  in  spite  of  appearances,  I  would  still 
feel  that  this  trust  in  Babcock  was  a  fine  thing.  But 
I  believe  that  it  meant  more  than  this.  I  have  heard 
it  said  that  General  Babcock  seemed  to  cast  a  spell 
over  the  President.  Well,  then,  he  cast  a  spell  over 
me,  too.  I  shall  always  believe  that  General  Babcock 
was  guilty  of  nothing  worse  than  of  being  a  friend  to 
men  of  whose  real  pursuits  he  was  ignorant. 

There  was  another  man  to  whom  General  Grant 
was  loyal  when  it  cost  him  much  to  be  so.  That  was 
in  the  case  of  General  Belknap,  the  Secretary  of  War 
in  the  second  administration.  Belknap  was  a  brave 
man  and  a  good  soldier,  and  as  such  he  had  won 
General  Grant's  admiration.  Up  to  the  time  of  his 
fall  he  was  a  poor  man  with  an  unblemished  reputa 
tion.  He  had  always  stood  for  an  honest  man. 

His  wife  was  a  peculiarly  beautiful  and  fascinat 
ing  woman,  and  was  the  sister  of  General  Belknap's 

212 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

first  wife.  On  her  marriage  she  drew  her  husband 
into  the  full  tide  of  social  dissipation.  Mrs.  Belknap 
became  a  conspicuous  figure  at  all  the  great  official 
functions  as  well  as  at  everything  else  that  was 
fashionable  and  brilliant.  The  number  of  her  Worth 
gowns  seemed  inexhaustible — Worth  was  the  great 
man  dressmaker  of  that  day.  Nobody  could  deny 
that  she  seemed  made  to  wear  them.  She  was  a 
handsome  woman,  with  the  smallest  and  prettiest 
foot  in  Washington.  The  Belknaps  entertained  ex 
travagantly.  It  might  very  easily  have  been  won 
dered  how  so  much  luxury  was  supported  on  the 
salary  of  a  Secretary  of  War. 

It  was  not  long  before  there  began  to  be  ugly  rumors 
connecting  the  Belknap  name  with  the  sale  of  trader- 
ships  at  the  military  posts.  These  were  lucrative 
positions,  especially  where  no  competition  was  per 
mitted.  When  it  was  clear  that  he  would  be  im 
peached,  the  Secretary  of  War  resigned.  It  was 
understood  that  this  was  to  avoid  impeachment.  It 
seemed  an  admission  of  guilt,  together  with  a  cow 
ardly  attempt  to  escape  the  consequences.  It  was 
wondered  why  as  brave  a  man  as  Belknap  should 
have  thought  of  flight,  and  why  the  President  should 
have  accepted  his  resignation  tinder  the  circum 
stances. 

I  happened  to  be  present  at  the  final  scene.  General 
Belknap  was  admitted  to  the  President's  office.  He 
came  forward  to  the  desk  and  said: 

"I  have  come  to  offer  my  resignation,  Mr.  Presi 
dent/'  He  was  a  fine,  large  man,  with  military  car- 

213 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

riage  and  a  long  patriarchal  beard,  which  was  con 
sidered  a  mark  of  distinction  in  those  days.  But 
now  nobody  could  have  helped  feeling  sorry  for  him. 
He  looked  heartbroken.  The  President  met  Bel- 
knap's  eyes — and  there  was  pity  in  his : 

"I  am  sorry,  Belknap,"  was  all  he  said.  But  the 
two  men  shook  hands. 

After  the  impeachment  Belknap  practised  law  in 
Washington;  he  had  an  office  on  New  York  Avenue 
between  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  streets.  I  used 
often  to  visit  him  there  in  the  evening.  We  would 
sit  and  smoke  for  hours  together.  General  Belknap 
was  a  kindly,  genial  man.  Mrs.  Belknap  and  her 
daughter  spent  much  of  their  time  abroad.  They 
were  abroad  when  he  died. 

In  talking  about  the  criticisms  made  of  General 
Grant's  administration,  I  do  not  want  to  give  the 
impression  that  he  himself  was  unduly  depressed  by 
all  the  abuse.  Of  course,  his  decline  in  popularity 
was  evident  to  himself  as  to  those  by  whom  he  was 
surrounded.  The  second  administration  was  a  great 
contrast  to  the  first.  But  he  took  it  all  apparently 
as  one  of  the  fortunes  of  war.  He  was  stouter,  and 
appeared  in  better  health  when  he  left  the  White 
House  than  when  he  entered  it.  During  the  worst  of 
the  attacks  on  him  he  never  looked  worn,  as  he  did 
when  I  saw  him  during  the  battle  of  Petersburg.  He 
believed  in  himself  too  much  to  be  shaken  by  abuse. 
There  was  a  certain  quality  of  his  character,  a  single 
ness  of  purpose,  which  had  made  him  great  as  a 
commanding  general,  that  was  so  absolute  as  to  be 

214 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

almost  callousness.  That  was  one  reason  why  he  was 
so  fond  of  horse -racing  on  the  road. 

One  of  his  races  I  was  concerned  in  myself.  Every 
one  knows  of  General  Grant's  fondness  for  horses. 
Since  his  first  horse  trade,  made  at  the  age  of  eight, 
he  had  had  an  interesting  succession  of  fast  steeds. 
When  he  was  in  the  White  House  President  Grant 
always  had  six  norses  of  his  own — sometimes  twelve— 
besides  the  ponies  and  other  horses  belonging  to  the 
rest  of  the  family.  Cincinnati,  who  had  carried  Gen 
eral  Grant  through  the  war,  was  the  favorite.  Clay- 
born  and  Rocky  Mountain  were  the  road  team,  and 
they  could  trot  to  the  pole  in  two-forty.  Now,  Major 
Sniff  en  also  possessed  a  fast  mare.  I  used  often  to 
drive  with  him.  One  afternoon  he  decided  that  we 
would  try  to  have  a  race  with  the  President.  It  was 
not  long  before  the  opportunity  presented  itself. 
General  Grant  started  out  one  afternoon  driving 
Clayborn  and  Rocky  Mountain.  He  had  his  young 
est  boy,  Jesse,  with  him.  We  followed  him.  He  took 
the  road  to  Bladensburg.  He  was  almost  there  when 
we  drove  alongside  and  saluted  him: 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you  out,"  he  said,  with  a  smile, 
and  a  side-glance  at  the  mare.  "How  far  are  you 
going?" 

"Only  to  the  spring,"  said  Major  Sniff  en. 

"I  am  going  there  myself."  When  we  reached  the 
spring  President  Grant  turned  his  horses  toward 
home,  with  a  measuring  glance  at  us  that  meant  a 
race. 

The  course  back  to  the  city  was  five  miles ;  most  of 

215 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  time  the  road  was  not  wide  enough  to  allow  two 
teams  abreast.  So  the  President  had  no  difficulty  at 
first  in  keeping  his  start.  When  we  came  to  within  a 
mile  and  a  half  of  the  city  we  had  a  wide,  level  stretch 
before  us.  Then  Major  Sniff  en  let  his  horse  cut.  For 
nearly  a  mile  we  were  neck  to  neck  and  going  at  a 
fearful  pace  for  a  country  road.  Then  one  of  the 
President's  horses  broke  into  a  run.  At  that  moment 
Sniff  en  touched  his  mare  with  the  whip,  and  she 
made  a  spurt  which  brought  us  ahead  and  won  the 
race. 

President  Grant  took  his  defeat  good-naturedly 
enough — but  the  next  day  he  bought  the  mare.  That 
was  characteristic  of  him. 

Of  another  more  reckless  race  I  happened  to  be  a 
spectator.  It  was  a  short  time  after  Major  Sniffen's 
victory.  I  was  driving  quietly  along  the  Seventh 
Street  road  one  evening,  when  I  heard  the  sharp 
clatter  of  hoofs  behind  me.  I  pulled  to  one  side — my 
horse  couldn't  compete  with  anything — and  then  saw 
that  one  of  the  three  racers  was  General  Grant.  He 
was  driving  his  trotting  -  horse,  Butcher  Boy.  His 
competitors,  one  on  either  side  of  him,  had  him  in  a 
pocket,  and  evidently  did  not  intend  to  let  him  out. 
But  they  didn't  know  their  man.  I  did,  and  looked 
out  for  danger.  I  knew  that  Butcher  Boy  could  out 
class  either  of  them ;  and  I  knew  that  the  President 
was  not  apt  to  stay  behind.  I  can  see  him  now  as  he 
leaned  forward,  bent  over  the  dash-board  until  his 
face  almost  touched  it.  He  had  pulled  his  slouch 
hat  over  his  forehead  until  nothing  could  be  seen  of 

216 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

his  face  but  a  grim  mouth  set  as  if  the  lips  could 
never  be  unlocked,  and  narrowed  eyes  gleaming  under 
the  hat  brim.  He  smashed  straight  ahead  at  his 
enemies.  He  was  almost  on  them.  From  the  looks 
they  darted  at  him,  at  that  instant,  they  seemed  to 
know — what  they  ought  to  have  known  all  the  time- 
that  he  proposed  to  pass  over  them  or  through  them— 
any  way  so  he  passed  them.  For  an  instant  the  out 
come  was  doubtful,  for  the  other  fellows  looked  pretty 
determined  too.  I  began  to  shiver.  But  when  But 
cher  Boy's  nose  was  within  an  inch  of  the  shoulder  of 
the  right-hand  man,  the  man  gave  way.  It  was  well 
that  he  did.  The  President  would  have  gone  straight 
ahead.  He  was  willing  enough  to  be  beaten  fairly,  but 
anything  like  jockeying  infuriated  him. 

It  was  in  the  spirit  he  showed  in  that  race  that 
President  Grant  conducted  his  administration.  He 
regretted  the  discomfiture  of  those  who  had  been  dis 
loyal  to  him  just  as  much  as  he  would  have  regretted 
—had  he  survived  long  enough  to  regret — a  smash-up 
while  he  was  passing  those  men.  He  had  conducted 
matters  as  seemed  best  to  him.  He  had  trusted  the 
men  he  believed  to  be  trustworthy.  In  cases  where 
he  was  convinced  they  had  betrayed  him  and  the 
country,  he  dismissed  them  from  his  consciousness. 
Where  he  was  not  convinced  that  a  man  had  been  dis 
loyal,  he  dismissed  from  his  mind,  in  the  same  manner, 
the  charges  against  that  man.  I  don't  believe  that 
General  Grant  ever  considered  himself  responsible  for 
the  things  that  happened.  They  were  incidental  to 
his  course. 

15  217 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

When  his  course  in  the  White  House  was  approach 
ing  its  end,  and  the  4th  of  March  of  1877  drew  near> 
there  was  much  to  be  done  to  prepare  for  the  recep 
tion  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes.     An  inventory  of  house 
hold  things  had  to  be  made,  and  the  effects  of  General 
Grant  and  his  family  separated  from  the  White  House 
furnishings.     Mr.  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Jr.,  did  most  of 
this  work.     Mrs.  Grant  went  around  through  all  the 
rooms  making  her  final  arrangements,   and  saying 
good-bye.     It  had  been  a  pleasant  home  for  her  for 
eight  years,  and  was  endeared  by  every  association. 
Birth,  marriage,  and  death  had  come  to  those  nearest 
to  her  within  the  White  House  walls.    I  know  that  she 
was  saddened  while  she  made  those  last  pilgrimages. 
But  she  gave  thought  to  the  comfort  of  these  who  were 
coming    in.     Beckley    was    instructed    to    order    an 
abundance  of  provisions  so  that  Mrs.  Hayes  would 
not  need  to  concern  herself  with  housekeeping  details 
for  some  time.     The  White  House  store-rooms  were 
well  stocked  with  everything  but  meats  and  fresh 
vegetables.     General  Grant  also  gave  orders  that  a 
selection  of  the  various  wines  which  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  use  on  their  own  table  should  be  left 
in  the  cellar.     He  said  he  did  not  know  whether  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hayes  would  use  them ;  but  the  wines  would 
be  there  if  the  President-elect  and  his  wife  cared  for 

them. 

The  4th  of  March  in  1877  came  on  Sunday,  so  the 
inauguration  ceremonies  were  divided  between  Satur 
day,  the  3d,  and  the  following  Monday.  On  Saturday 
I  accompanied  President  Grant  when  he  went  to  the 

218 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

Capitol  the  last  time.  A  steady  stream  of  Congress 
men  and  personal  friends  and  people  who  wished  to 
ask  for  last  favors  passed  in  and  out  of  the  doors  of 
the  President's  room.  There  was  a  hum  of  conversa 
tion,  and  the  room  was  blue  with  cigar  smoke.  A 
great  many  men  came  in  just  to  wring  his  hand ;  but 
there  was  always  a  group  about  his  desk  of  friends 
who  remained  for  a  last  chat  with  President  Grant. 
The  mass  of  bills  that  are  always  hurried  through  the 
last  days  of  the  session  had  to  be  brought  in  and 
signed.  The  President,  cigar  tilted  up  in  mouth, 
signed,  and  I  blotted.  One  of  the  bills  that  was 
brought  in  was  to  appropriate  money  to  pay  the 
claim  of  a  retired  army  officer  whom  I  happened 
to  know.  It  was  for  $12,000,  and  would  go  far  to 
make  the  old  gentleman  comfortable.  There  was  a 
prospect  that  it  would  be  crowded  out,  and  that  would 
mean  that  it  would  possibly  never  be  paid. 

Mr.  Robeson,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  was  on  the 
other  side  of  the  room.  He  had  the  bill  on  his  desk. 
I  went  over  to  him  and  spoke  of  the  matter: 

"I  know  this  man,  Mr.  Secretary,"  I  said,  "and  I 
hope  you  will  recommend  the  President  to  sign  it. 
Please  don't  let  the  administration  go  out  without 
this  last  act  of  kindness  to  an  old  man." 

Mr.  Robeson  examined  the  bill,  and  then  said : 

"All  right,  Crook.  Take  it  over  to  the  President 
and  tell  him  I  say  it's  a  just  claim." 

So  the  President  signed  it,  and  I  blotted  it. 

On  that  same  day  an  elaborate  luncheon  was  served 
for  Mrs.  Hayes  and  the  ladies  who  accompanied  her, 

219 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

But  a  far  more  ceremonious  affair  was  the  great  state 
dinner  at  night,  at  which  thirty  guests  were  enter 
tained.  President-elect  and  Mrs.  Hayes  were,  of 
course,  the  guests  of  honor.  The  cabinet  officers  and 
their  wives,  Senator  Sherman,  and  various  other 
notables  were  present.  Dinner  was  served  at  half- 
past  seven.  The  menu  was  long  and  elaborate. 
General  Grant  had  selected  the  wines  to  be  served 
with  each  course,  and  had  marked  them  on  the  menu 
so  there  could  be  no  mistake.  He  was  a  man  who 
delighted  in  all  the  offices  of  hospitality.  I  have  never 
known  a  man  who  took  more  interest  in  the  little  de 
tails  by  which  he  could  assure  himself  of  the  comfort 
and  pleasure  of  his  guests.  Everything  belonging  to 
good-fellowship  and  good  cheer  was  dear  to  him. 
He  enjoyed  friends,  and  he  enjoyed  friendship.  That 
is  one  reason  why,  when  misfortune  came,  he  found 
that  there  were  so  many  men  who  loved  him.  It 
was  in  accordance  with  his  character  that  the  usual 
dinner  given  by  the  outgoing  to  the  incoming  Presi 
dent  should,  in  the  hands  of  General  and  Mrs.  Grant, 
have  seemed  a  spontaneous  act  of  generous  hos 
pitality. 

At  twelve  o'clock  that  night,  in  the  first  moments 
of  the  4th  of  March,  the  oath  of  office  was  administered 
to  President  Hayes.  This  was  done  because,  since 
the  4th  fell  on  Sunday,  and  the  inauguration 
ceremonies  were  to  be  on  Monday,  there  would 
otherwise  have  been  a  day  during  which,  officially, 
there  would  have  been  no  Executive.  The  dinner 
guests  were  gathered  together  in  the  Red  Room,  and 

220 


POLITICAL    DISSENSION 

there  Chief -Justice  Waite  swore  in  the  new  President. 
But  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  did  not  remain  at  the  White 
House  that  night ;  they  returned  to  the  home  of  Sena 
tor  Sherman,  where  they  were  being  entertained.  The 
next  Monday  General  and  Mrs.  Grant  took  their  leave, 
and  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  moved  in. 

The  real  farewell  of  most  of  the  White  House  em 
ployees  to  General  Grant  was  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
3d,  when  he  left  the  Executive  Mansion  to  go  to  the 
Capitol.  It  was  a  characteristic  one,  too.  A  number 
of  his  friends  had  gathered  at  the  White  House,  so 
quite  a  little  company  followed  him  out  to  the  portico 
to  see  him  start  off.  I  stood  ready  to  accompany  him. 
Everybody  felt  pretty  sad.  He  had  been  kind  to  us 
all.  One  after  another,  theinen  pressed  forward  to 
shake  his  hand.  He  started  toward  the  steps.  Some 
one  in  the  crowd  called  out  the  usual  trite  remark: 
11  Well,  Mr.  President,  this  is  your  last  day!" 
General  Grant  turned  at  the  head  of  the  steps: 
"Well,"  he  replied,  slowly,  "I  can't  say  as  my 
illustrious  predecessor  did  " — here  he  smiled  a  little — 
' '  that  I  go  out  with  the  approval  of  the  whole  country. 
I  know  I  don't.  And  I  believe  I'm  glad  of  it!" 

Then  he  turned  again  and  walked  down  the  steps 
with  his  quick,  decided  walk,  and  his  square  shoulders 
set. 


XII 

RUTHERFORD   B.  HAYES   IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

THE  very  first  official  act  of  President  Hayes  put 
all  of  us  of  the  White  House  staff  at  our  ease. 
At  that  time  there  was  always  more  or  less  anxiety 
among  the  executive  clerks,  as  in  all  the  departments, 
at  the  beginning  of  each  administration,  for  fear  the 
incoming  President  might  want  our  places  for  his 
own  friends.  It  might  be  weeks  or  months  before 
we  felt  safe,  but  in  the  case  of  President  Hayes  we 
did  not  have  long  to  wait.  The  afternoon  of  Inaugu 
ration  Day  we  were  all  sitting  quietly  at  our  desks, 
with  suspense  in  the  air.  I  had  just  settled  myself 
after  catching  a  glimpse  of  Mrs.  Hayes  in  the  corridor, 
with  her  little  nine-year-old  daughter  Fanny,  inspect 
ing  her  new  domain.  In  passing  she  gave  me  a  pleas 
ant  glance  from  her  lustrous  brown  eyes.  I  turned 
to  look  after  her,  and  noticed  how  gracefully  she 
walked.  But  at  that  moment  we  were  wondering 
when  the  President  would  come  in. 

There  was  a  little  stir  as  a  quiet,  solidly  built  man 
with  a  fine  full  beard  entered.  Grant  has  said  of 
Hayes:  "His  conduct  on  the  field  was  marked  by 
conspicuous  gallantry,  as  well  as  the  display  of 
qualities  of  a  higher  order  than  mere  personal  daring." 

222 


R.  B.    HAYES    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

While  there  was  a  complete  absence  of  military 
swagger,  President  Hayes  carried  himself  with  sol 
dierly  uprightness. 

I  rose  at  my  desk,  but  he  had  crossed  the  floor  be 
fore  I  could  meet  him,  and  shook  my  hand  with  the 
cordiality  that  we  all  afterward  grew  to  expect  from 

him. 

"What  are  your  duties,  Mr.  Crook?"  he  asked. 

I  explained  as  well  as  I  could  in  a  few  words. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "just  continue  to  perform  your 
duties.  You  will  not  be  disturbed." 

I  went  home  that  night  feeling  that  the  new  Presi 
dent  was  going  to  be  a  good  man  to  work  for. 

Other  men  in  the  office  were  sure  of  it,  and  with 
reason.  Mr.  C.  C.  Sniffen,  who  had  been  assistant 
private  secretary  in  Grant's  second  administration, 
was  promoted  to  be  major  and  paymaster  in  the 
army.  Mr.  O.  L.  Pruden,  a  clerk  in  the  office,  was 
made,  through  the  friendship  of  Major  Sniffen,  assist 
ant  private  secretary.  The  secretary  was  Mr.  Rogers, 
formerly  an  Episcopal  clergyman.  He  was  an  admir 
able,  kindly  man,  but  had  little  executive  ability. 
There  were  minor  changes:  a  few  new  clerks  were 
appointed,  the  telephone  and  telegraph  services  were 
introduced.  By -the -way,  it  is  surprising  how  up 
to  date  this  made  us  feel.  Previous  to  this,  there  had 
been  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  Civil-Service  Reform, 
while  very  little  had  been  actually  accomplished. 
But  now  the  principles  that  had  been  in  the  air  were 
brought  down  to  earth — in  the  Executive  Office.  In 
a  few  days  a  new  feeling  began  to  pervade  it.  We 

223 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

realized  that  there  would  be  recognition  of  faithful 
service.  The  sharp  distinctions  that  had  been  made 
between  certain  positions  were  gone.  Somehow,  we 
were  all  men  of  much  the  same  class,  working  to 
gether  on  an  equality. 

Among  the  changes  in  the  office  there  was  one 
interesting  feature  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the 
character  of  the  President  and  with  the  whole  admin 
istration.  A  stenographer,  G.  A.  Gust  in,  sat  always 
in  the  President's  office.  When  one  realizes  that 
nothing  could  be  said  to  the  President,  nor  could  he 
say  anything,  except  in  the  presence  of  a  third  person, 
a  man  begins  to  wonder  how  much  of  the  character 
of  the  administration  was  due  to  this  fact.  It  also 
becomes  evident  what  sort  of  man  it  was  who  pre 
ferred  to  have  state  affairs  public. 

There  were  no  cabinet  quarrels,  so  far  as  was 
known,  nor  was  there  any  jealousy.  Secretaries 
Evarts,  Sherman,  and  Schurz  were  at  the  White 
House  more  than  the  others  and  seemed  to  have  most 
influence. 

Mrs.  Hayes  managed  her  domestic  affairs  with  the 
same  ease  and  smoothness  that  her  husband  did  his 
cabinet.  She  followed  the  same  method,  too,  of 
placing  authority  in  the  hands  of  those  she  could 
trust.  Winnie  Monroe,  the  cook — a  fat  old  woman 
who  was  as  black  as  a  crow — came  with  Mrs.  Hayes 
from  Ohio,  and  W.  T.  Crump,  the  steward,  followed 
in  a  few  weeks.  Both  Winnie  and  Crump  were  de 
voted  to  their  employers — Winnie  adored  Mrs.  Hayes. 
So  they  looked  out  for  the  interests  of  the  President 

224 


RUTHERFORD       B.      HAYES 


R.  B.  HAYES  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

and  his  wife,  and  at  the  same  time  kept  everything 
as  peaceful  as  possible.  In  my  recollection  there 
never  has  been  a  time  when  the  White  House  was  so 
well  served.  It  was  such  a  glorious  period  for  Winnie 
that  she  was  not  at  all  contented  when,  with  the 
Hayes  family,  she  retired  to  Ohio  and  private  life. 
She  soon  was  back  in  Washington: 

''Law,  chile/'  she  remarked  to  one  of  her  fellow- 
officials  who  had  remained  in  the  White  House  ser 
vice,  "I  cain't  stay  in  no  Ohio— not  aftah  I  been 
fu'st  culled  lady  in  de  Ian' !"  It  is  fortunate  that  the 
daughter  of  the  "fu'st  culled  lady"  had  secured  a 
Government  position.  That  the  maintenance  of  social 
position  had  proved  expensive  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  when  Winnie  died,  not  long  afterward,  the 
daughter  sent  to  General  Hayes  for  help.  The  Gen 
eral  telegraphed  me  from  Ohio  to  make  all  the  neces 
sary  funeral  arrangements  and  send  the  bill  to  him. 

Crump,  the  steward,  told  me  of  an  incident  that 
showed  how  fastidious  President  Hayes  was  about 
some  things.  It  had  been  the  custom  during  the 
Grant  administration  to  buy  the  groceries  of  the 
army  commissary.  This  was  perfectly  natural  and 
proper,  because  of  the  army  associations  of  General 
Grant.  At  the  commissary  the  very  best  things  were 
to  be  obtained  at  cost  price.  This  President  Hayes 
refused  to  do.  "I  prefer  to  buy  like  other  men,"  he 
said. 

The  peacefulness  that  reigned  in  the  cabinet-room 
and  offices,  and  that  permeated  the  kitchen  and  pan 
try,  was  a  sort  of  reflection  of  the  peace  and  order  that 

225 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

filled  the  big  square  rooms  in  the  President's  private 
apartments  and  brooded  over  the  corridor.  The 
Hayes  family  was  an  affectionate  and  harmonious 
one.  To  begin  with,  the  President  was  genial  and 
even-tempered.  Mrs.  Hayes  would  have  been  con 
sidered  an  unusual  woman  wherever  placed.  People 
were  always  saying  that  she  was  a  clever  woman. 
One  would  know,  from  the  way  she  carried  herself 
and  from  her  face,  that  she  was  a  woman  of  much 
character;  the  deference  shown  her  by  her  husband 
would  have  proved  it  if  nothing  else  did.  But  her 
cleverness  was  not  what  most  impressed  White  House 
employees.  What  we  felt  was  her  sweetness,  her  kind 
ness,  and  the  sunniness  of  her  disposition.  She  was 
a  bright,  happy  woman. 

The  executive  ability  of  the  President's  wife  was 
shown  to  great  advantage  in  the  troublesome  matter  of 
refurnishing  the  White  House,  with  no  money  with 
which  to  do  it.  Because  of  the  political  situation 
Congress  had  failed  to  make  an  appropriation.  Yet, 
when  the  Grants  left,  the  place  was  in  the  state  of 
shabbiness  that  usually  marked  the  end  of  an  ad 
ministration.  Mrs.  Hayes  ransacked  attic  and  cellar 
to  find  furniture  that  had  been  stored  away  for  years 
and,  in  some  cases,  forgotten.  Many  really  good 
things  owed  their  preservation  to  this  energetic  lady. 

She  took  pride  in  keeping  up  the  historical  associa 
tions  of  the  mansion.  I  am  sure  the  only  piece  of 
lobbying  that  she  ever  did  was  undertaken  to  get 
possession,  for  the  White  House,  of  the  Martha 
Washington  portrait.  She  invited  the  proper  Con- 

226 


R.  B.  HAYES    IN    THE   WHITE    HOUSE 

gressmen  to  dinner,  and  after  that  function  proffered 
her  request  with  a  smile  from  bright  and  pretty  eyes. 
And  she  got  what  she  wanted.  In  this  case,  however, 
not  even  President  Hayes  could  criticise;  for  it  was 
due  to  him  that  the  White  House  collection  of  por 
traits  was  made  fairly  complete.  He  made  this 
project  one  of  his  pursuits.  He  also  had  the  library 
catalogued. 

It  was  quite  in  keeping  that  she  should  have  loved 
flowers  as  she  did.  The  White  House  conservatories 
had  never  been  the  object  of  so  much  interest  on  the 
part  of  the  mistress  as  during  her  time.  She  brought 
frorr  Ohio  Henry  Pfister,  the  florist,  who  was  in  his 
element.  By  her  wishes  the  billiard-room  that  used 
to  connect  the  conservatories  with  the  house  was 
made  into  a  conservatory,  the  billiard  -  table  being 
moved  into  the  basement.  A  rose  house  and  a  violet 
house  were  constructed  and  long-closed  windows  were 
opened  that  guests  seated  at  a  state  dinner  could  look 
through  long  vistas  in  the  conservatory. 

These  additions  were  necessary  to  supply  all  the 
flowers  Mrs.  Hayes  wanted  to  give  away,  for  that  was 
the  chief  use  she  made  of  them.  Flowers  went  from 
her  to  the  Children's  Hospital  almost  every  day; 
anything  that  helped  children  appealed  to  her  more 
than  other  charities.  Whenever  a  friend  was  ill, 
flowers  were  sent  to  the  sick  -  room ;  White  House 
employees,  home  on  sick-leave,  received  them  every 
day.  Her  love  for  flowers  was  as  distinctive  as  her 
dress. 

During  the  four  years  that  Mrs.  Hayes  held  social 

227 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

sway,  she  was  never  influenced  to  change  in  any  de 
tail  her  manner  of  dressing  her  hair.  She  always 
wore  rich  materials;  taste  then  ran  to  heavy,  rich 
fabrics  rather  than  to  flimsier  things.  She  never 
wore  a  low-necked  gown;  although  her  evening  cos 
tumes  might  be  cut  out  at  the  neck  in  the  shape  of 
a  heart  or  a  V,  it  was  only  to  be  filled  in  with  some 
fluffy,  filmy  stuff.  She  wore  little  jewelry  unless  it 
were  something  like  the  high  sil  /er  comb  of  which  she 
was  so  fond,  or  the  cameo  portrait  of  the  President  set 
with  diamonds,  which  she  had  had  made  as  a  souvenir 
of  her  silver  wedding,  which  happened  the  first  winter 
she  was  in  the  White  House. 

Mrs.  Hayes  was  fond  of  heavy,  lustrous  white  stuffs. 
Of  all  flowers  she  loved  best  to  wear  white  camellias. 
With  one  of  these  creamy,  waxen,  perfect  things  at 
her  breast,  and  another  in  her  dark  hair,  with  the 
rose-geranium  leaves  that  she  liked  about  them,  she 
felt  that  her  costume  was  elaborate  enough.  Some 
times,  when  the  camellias  had  all  been  given  away, 
she  wore,  instead,  a  white  rosebud.  Her  hair  was  so 
dark  a  brown  that  it  seemed  black.  It  was  wonder 
fully  heavy,  and  she  always  wore  it  looped  over  her 
ears  in  shining  bands.  With  these  rich,  smooth  sur 
faces,  her  broad,  white  forehead,  and  her  large,  brown, 
brilliant  eyes,  Mrs.  Hayes  was  always  conspicuous  in 
a  crowd  of  women. 

The  fact  is,  Mrs.  Hayes  was  a  handsome  woman. 
It  is  true  that  her  charm  of  manner  and  grace  of 
movement  would  have  made  her  noticeable  any 
where.  She  had,  too,  the  sort  of  tact  that  comes 

228 


R.  B.  HAYES    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

from  a  desire  to  make  people  happy,  and  the  influence 
over  others  that  made  them  do  what  she  wished  with 
out  their  knowing  that  they  were  being  influenced. 

The  Hayes  children  had  many  of  the  traits  of  both 
father  and  mother.  Burchard  Hayes,  the  eldest  son, 
did  not  live  in  Washington.  He  was  here  only  for 
occasional  visits,  so  Webb,  the  next  son,  was  his 
father's  right-hand  man,  and  attended  to  his  father's 
personal  affairs.  I  used  to  see  a  good  deal  of  Webb 
Hayes.  We  often  went  gunning  together  after  office 
hours.  He  was  a  square,  honest  fellow.  Indeed,  all  of 
the  boys  were,  but  as  Rutherford  was  away  at  college 
most  of  the  time,  the  White  House  saw  more  of  Webb 
and  of  Scott,  the  youngest  child,  than  of  the  other 
sons.  Scott  was  full  of  fun  and  mischief.  He  used 
to  get  into  a  good  deal  of  trouble  because  he  was 
pretty — well — enterprising,  but  he  was  a  nice  little 
fellow  all  the  same. 

Fanny,  the  one  daughter  and  the  next  to  the 
youngest  child,  was  the  pet  of  the  White  House.  She 
was  attractive,  with  a  perfect  complexion  and  a  bright 
face.  Her  hair  was  brown  and  her  eyes  were  a  pretty 
blue.  She  used  to  come  into  the  office  to  ask  me  for 
paper,  or  something  of  the  sort.  Then  she  would 
scribble  notes  to  me.  I  have  some  of  them  tucked 
away.  One  of  them  has  on  the  outside,  in  very  strag 
gling  letters,  the  caution, ' '  Private,"  with  my  name  and 
address.  In  the  corner  she  has  commented,  "  Very  bad 
writing."  All  this  was  the  prelude  to  saying: 

DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  paper  you 
gave  me.  FANNY. 

229 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Another  card,  which  is  addressed  to  "Mr.  Crook, 
Esq.,"  is  in  another  mood.  She  says: 

I  am  very  very  very  mad  because  you  have  not  got  large 
enough  book  to  press  my  flowers  in. 

This  was  when  Fanny  was  eleven  years  old.  An 
other  is  formal  and  legal  in  tone.  I  have  forgotten 
what  it  was  that  she  was  referring  to — something 
that  the  child  thought  was  a  joke,  I  suppose. 

Mr.  Crook: 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  heard  you  were  not  very  prompt  in 
paying  a  poor  man  a  debt  you  owed  him.  I  will  therefore 
demand  payment  instantly. 

Very  truly, 

F.  R.  HAYES. 

The  scraps  of  writing  bring  back  the  picture  to 
me  of  the  merry,  busy  child  running  in  and  out  on 
her  own  affairs. 

Children,  as  we  all  know,  are  usually  democratic; 
but  in  this  case  they  were  reflecting  the  character 
of  their  elders.  One  incident  that  I  remember  shows 
how  simple  Mrs.  Hayes  was.  A  number  of  visiting 
ladies  called  one  morning  by  appointment.  They 
were  not  personal  friends ;  they  were  merely  travellers 
who  had  come  to  Washington  from  a  distance.  Mrs. 
Hayes  showed  them  all  through  the  private  apart 
ments  ;  she  knew  that  these  matrons  from  the  Middle 
West  would  be  interested  in  White  House  house 
keeping  more  than  in  both  Houses  of  Congress  and 
the  Supreme  Court  combined.  The  ladies  afterward 
reported,  with  approbation,  that  "everything  was  in 

230 


R.  B.  HAYES    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

order  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning."  You  may  be 
sure  they  told  in  their  home  towns  that  Mrs.  Hayes 
was  a  good  housekeeper. 

One  of  the  prettiest  things  that  happened  at  the 
White  House  while  I  was  there  had  Mrs.  Hayes  for 
its  chief  actor.     I  suppose  it  might  have  been  em 
barrassing  to  another  kind  of  woman.     A  veteran  of 
the  War  of  1812  was  to  have  his  photograph  taken 
at  the  White  House.     The  old  fellow  lived  at  the 
Soldiers'  Home,  but  the  brand-new  uniform  ordered 
for  the  occasion  had  been  sent  direct  to  the  Executive 
Mansion.     When  Mrs.  Hayes  discovered  him  he  was 
almost    tearful    with    grief    because    the    sergeant's 
stripes  that  marked  his   rank  had  not  been  sewed 
on,  but  had  been  placed   beside  his  clothes  in  the 
paper    box.     Mrs.    Hayes   whipped   out   her   house 
wife  in  an  instant,  placed  the  now  smiling  veteran 
on  a  divan  in  the  Blue  Room,  and  was  sitting  on 
the  floor  in  front  of  him,   busily  stitching  on  his 
stripes,  when  Sir  Edward  Thornton,  the  British  Min 
ister,  with   some   English   friends  whom  he  wished 
to  present  to  the  President's  wife,  was  ushered  into 
the  room!     It  is  not  wonderful  that  all  of  the  troops 
of  her  husband's  regiment,  and  any  others  who  had 
known  her,  adored  Mrs.  Hayes.     And  just  as  when, 
a  handsome  young  matron  of  thirty,  she  started  out 
to  find  her  wounded  husband  at  the  front,  she  en 
countered  nothing  but  helpfulness  along  the  almost 
impassable  road  from  Ohio  to  the  military  hospital, 
so  she  usually  had  her  own  kindly  way  with  any 
soldier  whom  she  met.     For  they  were  all  to  her  like 

231 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  wounded  "boys"  she  had  nursed  in  hospital  or 
heartened  upon  the  field. 

President  Hayes,  on  his  part,  had  a  kindly  fashion 
of  speaking  of  the  clerks  and  secretaries  in  the  Execu 
tive  Office  as  "my  office  family."  When  one  of  us 
was  standing  by  him  and  some  one  else  came  up,  he 
always  presented  us.  This  may  not  have  been  rigidly 
official,  but  it  did  make  one  feel  like  a  human  being. 
Both  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  introduced  pleasant 
customs  for  the  benefit  of  the  "office  family"  of  which 
I  shall  speak  later  on.  One  of  the  smaller  outings  in 
which  I  was  usually  included  was  when  the  President 
and  his  wife  went  out  to  Rock  Creek  to  shoot  at  a 
target.  Sometimes  Fanny  and  Scott  would  be  with 
us.  We  would  drive  up  Fourteenth  Street  to  the 
Rock  Creek  Road.  Straight  down  the  road,  in  a  par 
ticularly  lovely  spot,  was  a  big  birch-tree  that  over 
looked  the  water.  On  this  I  would  hang  the  target, 
and  we  would  all  try  our  skill.  Sometimes  the  chil 
dren  would  want  a  shot,  too,  but  one  trial  would  con 
tent  them,  and  they  would  run  off  to  find  other 
amusement.  The  President  hit  the  bull's-eye  five 
times  out  of  six,  but  neither  Mrs.  Hayes  nor  I  was  so 
good  a  shot. 

It  was  the  happy  time  of  the  department  clerks, 
also,  though  probably  none  of  them  would  have  ad 
mitted  it.  But  it  wasn't  the  happy  time  of  Senators 
and  Members  and  political  bosses  who  couldn't  get 
the  "patronage"  they  thought  they  were  entitled  to. 
During  the  early  days  of  the  Hayes  administration 
the  question  was  whether  the  President  would  really 

232 


R.  B.  HAYES  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

carry  out  the  principles  of  Civil-Service  Reform. 
From  his  letter  of  acceptance,  of  course,  he  was 
pledged  to  it ;  he  had  been  identified  with  the  move 
ment  before  he  became  a  candidate;  but  those  of 
us  who  had  stood  between  past  Presidents  and  the 
daily  hordes  of  office-seekers  were  doubtful  whether 
it  would  be  possible  for  any  one  man  to  withstand 
the  pressure. 

To  a  large  extent  President  Hayes  did  withstand 
the  pressure.  I  can  state,  from  my  personal  acquaint 
ance  with  clerks  in  the  different  departments,  that, 
so  far  as  displacements  were  concerned,  the  Civil- 
Service  Reform  principles  were  carried  out.  The 
President  also  attempted  to  prevent  applications  for 
positions  being  made  to  him  in  person.  Instructions 
were  published  in  the  newspapers  and  posted  at  the 
White  House  stating  that  applications  should  be 
made  in  writing  and  submitted  to  the  proper  head  of 
department.  I  remember  that  the  President  said : 

"It  is  an  imposition  that  such  things  should  take 
up  so  much  of  the  time  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States!" 

Practically  these  instructions  were  not  observed 
to  any  great  extent.  The  President  was  too  kindly 
a  man  not  to  be  accessible  to  those  who  wanted  to 
see  him. 

The  great  thing  that  was  done — and  that  was  the 
point  on  which  the  President  worked  in  harmony  with 
his  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Carl  Schurz,  whom  every 
body  knew  to  be  in  earnest  about  Civil-Service  Reform 
— was  in  establishing  competitive  examinations  for  the 
16  233 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

various  offices  of  the  Interior  Department.  It  came 
to  be  quite  the  usual  thing  to  read  an  announce 
ment  in  the  paper  that  an  examination  would  be 
held  in  the  Patent  Office  or  Pension  Office  or  Indian 
Bureau  to  determine  who  would  be  eligible  to  fill 
vacancies  in  those  departments.  The  Post-Office 
Department  also  tried  the  method,  but  more  rarely. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  President  also  insisted  upon 
Civil-Service  Reform  in  the  New  York  Custom  House 
and  Post-Office. 

There  was  one  very  necessary  reform  that  the 
President  carried  through — for  all  time,  I  believe. 
There  had  been  a  kind  of  political  blackmail  going  on 
in  the  departments.  The  campaign  managers  vir 
tually  had  been  levying  on  the  clerks  large  contribu 
tions  to  the  Republican  campaign  fund,  the  clerks 
being  afraid  not  to  give  the  money.  The  President 
was  indignant  over  this  abuse.  He  had  orders  cir 
culated  in  the  departments  to  the  effect  that  clerks 
were  not  to  be  required  to  make  such  contributions, 
nor  were  Government  officials  to  take  a  prominent 
part  in  party  organizations.  Government  employees 
might  go  home  to  vote,  but  they  were  to  have  no  part 
in  State  party  organizations. 

His  attitude  on  the  second-term  question  was  an 
other  example  of  the  same  thing.  He  had  announced 
at  the  time  of  his  election  that  in  no  circumstances 
would  he  accept  a  renomination.  He  was  opposed 
to  the  idea  on  principle.  Now,  men  have  held  that 
theory  who,  after  a  taste  of  power,  have  been  led  to 
change  their  minds.  But  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was 

234 


R.  B.  HAYES    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

never  influenced  in  the  least.  No  action  while  he  was 
in  the  White  House  was  aimed  at  popularity.  Every 
thing  that  he  did  was  done  because,  according  to 
his  own  principles,  it  was  right.  I  have  heard  Presi 
dent  Hayes  say: 

"I  believe  the  second-term  idea  is  opposed  to  the 
principles  of  Republican  government." 

Moreover,  I  believe  that  throughout  his  life  Hayes 
preferred  private  to  public  life.  Before  he  was  nomi 
nated  for  the  Presidency  he  had  shown  that  prefer 
ence.  In  1872,  when  the  nomination  for  Congress 
was  offered  to  him,  he  at  first  refused,  and  he  was 
led  to  accept  only  when  he  was  convinced  his  ac 
ceptance  was  for  the  good  of  the  party.  When  he 
left  the  White  House  it  was  with  the  intention  not 
to  return  to  public  life.  In  a  letter  written  to  me 
December  23,  1888,  he  said:  "Of  course  all  rumors 
about  my  taking  any  place,  etc.,  etc.,  are  untrue." 

Another  promise  made  in  his  letter  of  acceptance 
which  was  unpopular  with  many  of  the  Republican 
Party  and  which  he  still  persisted  in  carrying  out, 
was  that  with  regard  to  removing  the  Federal  troops 
from  the  South.  There  was  an  interesting  story  told 
by  a  newspaper  correspondent  at  the  time  to  ex 
plain  how  General  Hayes  had  come  to  this  decision. 
I  cannot  vouch  for  it,  of  course,  but  it  is  certainly 
characteristic  of  the  man  as  I  knew  him. 

The  correspondent  asked  President  Hayes  why  he 
had  decided  to  withdraw  the  troops  from  the  South : 

"Well,"  said  the  President,  "while  I  was  thinking 
about  my  letter  of  acceptance  and  what  would  be  my 

235 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

policy  when  President,  I  began  to  ponder  on  the  state 
of  almost  anarchy  in  the  South.  I  said  to  myself: 
'These  Southerners  are  men  like  the  rest  of  us.  They 
are  neither  cut-throats  nor  bandits ;  they  are  average 
men.  There  must  be  some  reason  why  neighbor  is 
killing  neighbor  down  there,  why  they  are  violating 
the  national  law,  some  reason  outside  of  themselves, 
for  the  rest  of  Americans  are  living  in  peace  and 
order/ 

"Then  the  battle  of  the  Antietam  campaign  came 
into  my  mind.  I  remembered  that,  as  I  stood  watch 
ing  the  slaughter — men  cut  down  in  swaths — I  had 
rejoiced  at  it,  been  glad  to  see  a  thing  at  which,  at 
another  time,  I  should  have  shuddered — 

" '  It  was  because  it  was  war  that  we  all  loved  vio 
lence  at  that  time,'  I  said  to  myself.  'And  now,  it  is 
because  they  feel  that  they  are  still  living  in  a  state 
of  war  that  the  Southern  men  are  killing  one  another. 
It  is  the  presence  of  the  troops  that  keeps  the  strife 
alive.'  And  at  that  moment  I  made  up  my  mind 
that  when  I  became  President  I  would  withdraw  the 
troops." 

And  withdraw  them  he  did,  in  spite  of  the  dis 
pleasure  of  many  of  the  leaders  of  the  party  who 
feared  that  the  President's  action  would  lose  the 
Republicans  votes  in  the  South.  That  action  of 
President  Hayes  was  the  beginning  of  real  peace; 
from  it  dated  a  revival  of  industries  which  became 
possible  only  when  North  and  South  again  co-operated 
in  the  Government. 

Still  a  third  point  of  the  President's  policy  he 

236 


R.  B.    HAYES    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

maintained  in  opposition  to  his  party.  In  this  he 
acted  in  accordance  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  John  Sherman.  Both  men  were  determined  to 
fight  for  sound  money;  and  when  President  Hayes 
vetoed  the  Silver  Coinage  Act  he  knew  he  was  doing 
an  unpopular  thing.  But  he  vetoed  it  just  the  same. 
The  bill  was  passed  over  his  veto. 

The  calmness  with  which  he  received  the  news  of 
the  defeat  of  his  policy  in  this  matter  made  clear  a 
trait  of  the  President's  character  that  was  as  marked 
as  his  firmness.  He  was  a  calm,  reasoning  man,  in 
earnest,  but  not  passionately  so.  The  night  the  Silver 
Coinage  passed  over  his  veto  there  happened  to  be  a 
state  dinner.  The  veto  of  the  bill  and  its  passage 
were  topics  that  made  table-talk.  There  was  a  good 
deal  of  facetious  conversation  about  it,  in  which  the 
President  took  part — in  fact  he  was  rather  merry  in 
his  genial  way.  It  was  not  that  he  hid  his  disap 
pointment  as  a  sportsmanlike  thing  to  do;  he  was 
really  satisfied  with  doing  his  part  under  the  Con 
stitution  and  with  having  registered  his  opinion  about 
the  thing.  Imagine  Andrew  Johnson,  or  any  other 
good  fighter,  being  reasonably  calm  and  satisfied  to 
have  a  measure  pass  which  he  honestly  thought  was 
bad  for  the  country ! 

I  suppose  it  was  because  both  he  and  Mrs.  Hayes 
came  to  be  known  as  unprejudiced  and  interested  in 
reforms  that  the  White  House  became  the  resort  of 
everybody  with  a  grievance  or  a  theory.  It  was 
well  the  President  and  his  wife  were  interested  in 
educational,  moral,  and  religious  matters;  they  must 

237 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

have  had  their  fill  of  them  while  they  were  in  Wash 
ington.  Every  question  that  had  been  put  aside, 
waiting  for  the  country  to  be  really  at  peace  again, 
came  up  for  discussion. 

Early  in  the  administration  the  Indian  troubles 
came  to  a  head.  There  was  delegation  upon  dele 
gation  of  Indians  who  had  come — in  war-paint  and 
blankets — to  see  the  Great  Father.  Sitting  Bull  came 
first  with  his  followers;  then  the  Poncas.  The  Sioux 
followed,  but  they  had  left  their  native  dress  and 
their  war-paint  at  home  and  wore  American  clothes. 
It  became  quite  the  ordinary  thing  to  see  groups  of 
braves  stalking  into  the  President's  office  for  a  con 
ference.  The  meeting  between  the  President  and  the 
chiefs  was  something  to  remember.  Each  brave  had 
an  opportunity  of  making  a  speech: 

"We  are  a  little  people,"  said  one.  "We  are  being 
driven  into  the  sea." 

' '  We  want  to  remain  on  the  lands  our  fathers  had ; 
we  want  our  children  to  be  educated  and  to  live  like 
white  men,  but  we  do  not  want  to  be  driven  into  the 
lands  where  there  is  no  water." 

"I  was  foolish  at  first,"  said  one  old  fighter,  "but 
I  know  more  now.  I  will  not  put  on  my  war  bonnet 
again  to  go  forth  against  the  white  men." 

The  burden  of  every  speech  was  a  plea  against 
further  seizure  of  their  lands.  They  were  sent  home 
with  presents  and  promises.  The  promises  were 
kept,  moreover,  for  President  Hayes's  administration 
was  the  beginning  of  a  more  just  and  humane  policy 
toward  the  Indians. 


R.  B.  HAYES    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

The  women  suffragists,  too,  were  much  in  evidence. 
Mrs.  Hayes  was,  of  course,  the  object  of  their  special 
interest.  She  received  them  graciously  and  sweetly. 
I  do  not  know  how  she  felt  about  it,  but  I  wonder  if 
the  place  she  occupied  in  the  President's  life  and  in 
the  minds  of  her  four  boys  might  not  have  been  as 
much  power  as  any  one  woman  would  have  wanted 
to  have.  Every  one  remembers  President  Hayes's 
remark  to  a  Western  delegation: 

"I  don't  know  how  much  influence  Mrs.  Hayes 
has  with  Congress,  but  she  has  great  influence  with 


me." 


While  he  was  still  in  the  White  House  the  main 
feature  of  the  social  reform  work  of  himself  and  Mrs. 
Hayes — somehow  it  seems  natural  to  speak  of  them 
together,  they  were  so  united  in  everything — was  in 
connection  with  the  temperance  movement.  We 
knew  of  their  convictions  before  they  took  posses 
sion,  and  were  all  wondering  whether  they  would  or 
would  not  have  wine  served  at  official  entertainments. 
We  were  not  long  left  in  doubt  as  to  Mrs.  Hayes's 
preference  in  the  matter. 

When  the  two  young  Russian  grand-dukes,  Alexis 
and  Constantine,  visited  Washington  there  was  much 
excitement.  "Would  Mrs.  Hayes  have  wine  at  the 
dinner  in  their  honor?  And  if  she  did  not,  what 
would  Alexis  and  Constantine  and  Russia  and  the 
whole  civilized  world  think  about  us?"  The  dinner 
was  to  be  on  the  igth  of  April.  Before  that  time  Mr. 
Evarts  came  to  the  relief  of  the  situation.  Being 
Secretary  of  State,  of  course  the  matter  came  within 

239 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

his  province;  and  he  was  not  only  a  clever  man, 
but  more  respectful  of  forms  than  many  other  leaders 
in  public  life.  I  remember  that  he  was  the  first 
gentleman  in  Washington  to  wear  a  frock-coat  at  the 
New -Year's  reception  at  the  White  House.  Up  to 
that  time  every  caller  had  presented  himself,  at 
eleven  in  the  morning,  in  a  dress-suit.  But,  about 
the  wine:  Mr.  Evarts  said  that,  since  the  Russian 
grand-dukes  were  accustomed  to  have  it  served  at  din 
ner,  it  would  be  a  failure  to  entertain  them  properly, 
and  consequently  a  lack  of  respect  to  Russia,  if  there 
were  no  wine.  So  it  was  served,  although  the  glasses 
in  front  of  the  President  and  his  wife  were  untouched, 
and  the  noble  guests  partook  without  realizing  the 
excitement  they  had  caused.  I  believe  there  would 
have  been  no  serious  complications  if  the  debated 
beverage  had  been  absent;  the  visitors  were  both 
too  young  to  be  punctilious.  They  were  tall,  well- 
set-up  young  men,  Alexis  noticeably  so,  and  in  gen 
eral  not  unlike  Americans  in  appearance. 

They  say  that  Mrs.  Hayes  was  afterward  sorry  that 
she  had  done  violence  to  her  convictions  in  the  mat 
ter.  For  a  time  the  temperance  organizations  were 
indignant  with  her.  But,  as  it  was  the  first,  it  was 
also  the  last  time  that  anything  alcoholic  was  served 
at  dinner  while  Mrs.  Hayes  was  in  the  White  House. 
So  the  temperance  organizations  forgave  her,  and 
soon  they  began  to  worship  her.  All  of  the  societies 
in  the  country  united  to  have  a  portrait  painted  of 
her  which  should  remain  in  the  White  House.  This 
was  done  while  she  was  in  Washington.  The  artist 

240 


R.  B.  HAYES    IN    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

was  Daniel  Hunting  ton,  and  he  succeeded  in  paint 
ing  a  splendid  likeness,  which  hangs  in  one  of  the 
corridors  of  the  White  House.  Then  the  Cincinnati 
School  of  Design  presented  a  heavily  carved  oak 
frame  for  the  picture.  It  was  a  handsome  thing  in 
itself,  but  it  was  not  specially  effective  for  the  pur 
pose  for  which  it  was  designed :  it  did  not  set  off  the 
picture.  During  a  later  administration  this  frame 
was  removed,  and  a  heavy  gilt  one  was  substituted. 
Then  there  was  a  commotion  about  that.  The  tem 
perance  societies  felt  that  proper  respect  had  not 
been  paid  to  them  or  the  frame.  They  wrote  to  the 
White  House  about  it,  requesting  that  the  frame  be 
rescued  and  sent  to  the  National  Museum.  Before 
anything  was  done  about  it,  however,  General  Hayes 
wrote  to  me,  from  Fremont,  Ohio,  on  the  3d  of 
December,  1887: 

MY  DEAR  COLONEL, — Some  ladies  who  are  on  the  Com 
mittee  of  the  Ohio  Centennial  to  prepare  an  exhibit  of 
Woman's  Work,  and  who  were  also  connected  with  the 
Committee  who  presented  the  carved  frame  of  the  Hunting- 
ton  portrait  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  wish  to  know  if  they  can  have 
the  frame  returned  for  the  Centennial. 

Old  articles  are  sometimes  sold  at  auction,  when  no  longer 
of  use  at  the  Executive  Mansion.  If  anything  of  this  kind 
is  done,  please  bid  it  off  in  your  name,  or  in  some  other,  and 
I  will  send  you  the  funds  and  return  it  to  the  ladies  or  the 
party  by  whom  it  was  given.  I  hope,  of  course,  to  return 
it  without  a  sale.  .  .  . 

Sincerely, 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

With  a  note  which  I  received  from  General  Hayes 
some  months  later,  the  incident  was  closed: 

241 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

FREMONT,  O.,  13  April,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — Your  note  of  the  6th  came  during  my 
Centennial  trip  to  Marietta.  I  have  just  seen  it,  having 
returned  only  last  night.  I  am  more  than  mortified  that  I 
did  not  write  thanking  you  for  your  good  friendly  work  as 
to  the  frame.  It  was  duly  received  by  President  Merrick — 
a  suitable,  quiet,  newspaper  paragraph  prepared  by  him — 
and  all  are  happy.  I  am  exceedingly  obliged.  Mrs.  Hayes 
manifested  more  gratification  than  I  anticipated  when  she 
found  it  was  safely  back  with  the  givers.  We  are  specially 
your  debtors,  and  the  President's. 

By-the-way,  he  delighted  us  greatly  by  the  appointment 
of  your  namesake,  General  Crook. 

With  all  friendship.  Come  to  see  us  any  time,  except 
when  we  are  away  from  home. 

Sincerely, 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

Just  a  short  time  ago  an  incident  occurred,  sug 
gested  probably  by  the  affair  of  the  frame,  that  shows 
what  absurd  misunderstandings  arise  when  the  papers 
are  particularly  in  need  of  news.  A  wail  went  up  all 
over  the  country  because  a  heavily  carved  sideboard, 
presented  to  Mrs.  Hayes  by  the  young  ladies  of  the 
Cincinnati  School  of  Design,  had  been  sold  at  auction 
and  was  adorning  some  saloon  in  the  city.  As  a  mat 
ter  of  fact  President  Hayes  would  not  permit  presents 
to  Mrs.  Hayes,  but  it  was  purchased  by  Colonel  Casey, 
Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  for 
the  White  House,  although  known  as  the  Hayes  side 
board.  It  was  furnished  under  contract  by  a  Cincinnati 
firm  in  1880.  When  the  White  House  was  remodelled 
during  the  present  administration,  according  to  an 
old  precedent,  such  furniture  as  was  not  in  keeping 
with  the  new  plans  was  sold. 

242 


R.  B.  HAYES  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

Because  of  the  attitude  of  President  and  Mrs. 
Hayes  toward  the  temperance  movement,  a  large 
element  in  the  country  thought  them  both  narrow- 
minded  fanatics.  But  there  was  nothing  fanatical 
about  them.  Beyond  the  one  instance  of  the  stand 
with  regard  to  their  own  table  at  the  White  House, 
they  made  no  effort  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  others. 
They  could  be  genial  and  companionable  without 
being  untrue  to  their  principles.  They  were  hospi 
table  and  loved  to  put  their  best  before  friends.  Al 
though  the  President  did  not  smoke,  there  was  rarely 
a  time  when  they  did  not  have  cigars  for  their  guests. 

The  trip  to  Richmond  the  autumn  after  the  in 
auguration  was  another  case  in  point.  The  railroad 
company  spared  no  expense  on  the  special  car.  The 
dinner  was  elaborate,  and  there  were  both  whiskey 
and  wine  on  the  table.  Neither  the  President  nor 
Mrs.  Hayes  made  objection  to  any  one  in  the  party 
drinking  as  much  as  he  saw  fit.  Of  course  their 
glasses  were  turned  down.  Otherwise,  they  made 
no  sign  of  their  opinions.  In  this  case  the  respon 
sibility  was  not  theirs,  as  the  Southern  Railroad  was 
host. 

That  was  a  wonderful  thing,  when  one  thinks  of 
it,  the  Presidential  party  at  the  Richmond  fair.  For 
the  first  time  since  the  war,  a  President,  elected  by 
Republicans,  united  with  the  South  to  celebrate  the 
reawakening  of  industry  in  that  section. 

It  was  a  wonderful  thing  to  me,  too,  who  was  with 
them.  We  went  luxuriously ;  there  was  a  jolly  party ; 
there  were  placid,  comfortable  faces  all  about  me. 

243 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

There  was  no  thought  of  anything  but  good  fellow 
ship  and  good  feeling;  yet  all  the  time,  as  we  drew 
near  to  Richmond,  the  thought  of  the  first  time  I 
had  been  there  was  in  my  mind,  the  day,  nearly 
twelve  years  before,  when  I  was  one  who  entered 
into  Richmond  with  Lincoln.  Then  we  were  a  few 
men  in  a  little  boat,  dodging  the  wreckage  in  the 
James  River.  Before  us  was  a  burning  town,  filled 
with  people  who  hated  us;  and  each  time  I  looked 
up,  there  was  the  pain  in  Lincoln's  face. 

But  when  we  got  there — President  Hayes  and  his 
party,  I  mean,  on  that  October  day  of  1877 — the 
other  time  faded  from  my  mind.  The  crowds  who 
welcomed  the  President  were  jubilant,  and  they  made 
a  great  deal  of  noise.  The  speech  he  made  at  the  fair 
was  cheered  manfully.  The  holiday  spirit  took  pos 
session  of  us  all.  Webb  Hayes  and  I  remained  after 
the  President  and  the  rest  of  the  party  had  gone  home. 
We  were  invited  by  Capt.  John  S.  Wise,  of  the  Rich 
mond  Blues,  to  go  gunning  for  birds.  Webb  Hayes 
was  the  one  of  the  President's  sons  who  cared  most 
for  an  active,  adventurous  life.  Much  of  his  father's 
military  instinct  had  descended  to  him.  Why,  just 
the  other  day — in  1898 — I  went  down-town,  in  Wash 
ington,  with  Webb  Hayes  to  help  him  select  his  out 
fit  as  major  of  an  Ohio  cavalry  regiment  of  volunteers 
in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico.  He  went  to  the  Philippines 
and  China  as  a  lieutenant.  He  was  colonel  before  he 
got  back. 


XIII 

SOCIAL  LIFE   IN  THE   HAYES   ADMINISTRATION 

HTHERE  was  a  great  deal  of  entertaining  at  the 
1  White  House  during  President  Hayes's  term.  I 
was  certainly  in  a  position  to  know  about  expenditures, 
and  I  can  state  that  the  administration  was  as  lavish 
as  any  of  its  predecessors  that  I  knew  anything  about, 
and  more  so  than  some  that  have  followed.  A  single 
reception  cost  $3000,  and  that  was  only  one  of  a 
succession  of  events.  There  was  the  usual  series  of 
state  dinners ;  Mrs.  Hayes  gave  a  great  many  lunch 
eons  for  ladies;  and  the  President  entertained  his 
cabinet  at  a  number  of  luncheons.  President  and 
Mrs.  Hayes  never  seemed  tired  of  entertaining.  When 
some  one  asked  Mrs.  Hayes  if  the  pressure  of  social 
duties  did  not  tire  her,  she  said  simply: 

"Why,  I  never  get  tired  of  having  a  good  time." 
A  great  many  things  conspired  to  make  the  adminis 
tration  an  unusually  interesting  one  socially.  In  the 
first  place,  besides  the  official  functions,  there  was  a 
succession  of  more  homely  entertainments.  The 
family  rarely  sat  down  to  dinner  without  guests. 
Mrs.  Hayes  had  a  number  of  young  ladies  with  her, 
who  added  much  to  the  gayety  of  the  White  House; 
friends  who  happened  to  be  in  conversation  with  any 

245 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

of  the  family  at  the  time  were  invited  informally  to 
luncheon.  Hardly  a  week  went  by  that  I  was  not 
asked  to  luncheon  two  or  three  times,  and  I,  of  course, 
was  one  of  many.  I  would  be  consulting  Mrs.  Hayes 
about  some  matter  when  the  meal  was  announced. 
Then  she  would  say: 

''Won't  you  come  in  to  lunch  with  me,  Mr.  Crook, 
and  we  shall  have  time  to  talk  this  over?" 

The  first  December  that  the  Hayeses  spent  in  the 
White  House  was  marked  by  a  particularly  interest 
ing  event.  The  3oth,  which  came  on  Sunday,  was 
the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  marriage  of  the 
President  and  his  wife,  and  on  the  3ist  there  was  a 
silver-wedding  reception.  Mrs.  Hayes  stood  under  a 
floral  wedding  bell  and  wore  a  gown  of  heavy  white 
silk,  the  neck  cut  heart-shaped  and  filled  in  with 
white  illusion.  It  was  at  first  reported  to  be  the 
dress  she  had  worn  at  her  wedding,  but  that  was  a 
mistake.  It  happened  that  she  did  wear  her  real 
wedding-dress  the  day  before— the  real  anniversary. 
It  was  a  quaint  gown,  the  yellowed  tints  and  scant 
folds  of  which  looked  odd  enough  in  that  day  of 
draped  and  elaborate  skirts.  That  quiet  family 
gathering  on  the  3oth  was  an  interesting  occasion  to 
those  who  knew  about  it.  The  old  minister  who  had 
performed  the  marriage  ceremony  was  present  and 
made  some  simple,  affecting  remarks.  The  child  of 
Mrs.  Hayes's  friend,  Mrs.  Herron,  was  christened, 
as  were  also  the  two  White  House  children,  Fanny 
and  Scott. 

The  wedding  of  Miss  Emily  Platt,  who  had  been 

246 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  HAYES  ADMINISTRATION 

one  of  Mrs.  Hayes's  assistants  during  the  first  social 
season,  was  another  occasion  in  which  the  family 
circle  and  more  intimate  friends  were  interested. 
The  ceremony  was  performed  in  the  White  House. 
The  groom  was  General  Hastings.  It  was  a  very 
quiet  affair,  but  the  Marine  Band  played,  and  there 
were  flowers  everywhere,  as  one  would  have  expected 
in  anything  with  which  Mrs.  Hayes  had  to  do. 

As  soon  as   these   more   intimate   affairs   were  a 
feature  of  the  past,  the  social  organization  of  the  ad 
ministration  was  undertaken.     Mrs.  Hayes  had  cer 
tain  well-defined  principles,  and  these  determined,  to 
a  great  extent,  the  social  customs  of  the  period.     For 
example,  she  hated  to  hurt  any  one's  feelings,  and 
she  knew  that  any  discrimination  in  social  preferment 
is  sure  to  create  heartburnings.     Consequently  she 
established  forms  which  were  never  broken  through. 
At  her  first  afternoon  reception  of  the  season,  the 
wives  of  all  the  cabinet  officers  received  with  her. 
After  that,  singly,  in  fixed  order,  they  assisted  at  the 
remaining  receptions.     With  the  cabinet  lady,  Mrs. 
Hayes's  house  guests  were  the  only  ladies  "in  line," 
until  the  last  reception,  when  all  the  cabinet  ladies 
were  again  present.     No  outside  guests  were  invited 
to  the  state  dinners.     In  every  way  she  attempted 
to  make  the  official  social  life  representative  of  the 
country  at  large,  rather  than  of  a  privileged  class. 
I  think  that,  to  an  astonishing  degree,  she  was  suc 
cessful  in  making  the  period  both  dignified  and  har 
monious. 

In  the  official  and  diplomatic  circles  certain  things 

247 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

happened  to  show  that  Washington  was  becoming  a 
more  important  social  centre.  Of  the  visit  of  the 
Russian  grand-dukes  I  have  already  spoken.  The 
arrival  of  the  Chinese  Minister  was  another  impor 
tant  and  picturesque  event.  At  the  first  reception  at 
which  he  appeared  the  newest  beauty  was  eclipsed. 
The  gorgeousness  of  his  costume  brought  the  East 
into  the  new  country.  He  wore  a  pagoda  hat  with 
a  scarlet  plume  floating  behind  it,  secured  by  a 
jewelled  button.  His  robe  was  in  two  shades  of 
lavender  silk  and  scarlet  velvet.  The  ladies  looked 
with  envy  at  his  costume  and  his  jewels. 

The  Earl  of  Dufferin,  a  much  plainer  personage 
than  the  Chinese  Minister,  followed  the  example  of 
the  Russian  grand-dukes  in  paying  Washington  a 
visit.  He  was  entertained  at  a  dinner,  at  which 
there  was  no  wine.  The  arrival  of  General  and  Mrs. 
Grant  in  Washington  was  the  signal  for  so  much 
entertaining  that  it  almost  ranked  with  a  great 
diplomatic  event.  The  popularity  of  General  Grant 
was  increasing  every  day.  There  was  a  great  dinner 
in  their  honor  at  the  White  House. 

One  innovation  of  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  had  a 
lasting  effect  on  the  social  customs  of  Washington, 
the  sending  out  of  cards  for  the  great  reception  to  the 
Diplomatic  Corps.  From  it  has  grown  the  series 
of  receptions  to  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  the  Army  and 
Navy,  the  Judiciary,  and  Congress,  which  are  per 
haps  the  most  important  general  social  events  of  the 
season.  The  first  of  these  receptions  was  in  Feb 
ruary,  1878.  The  indiscriminate  evening  receptions 

248 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  HAYES  ADMINISTRATION 

at  the  White  House  had  been  for  many  years  a  source 
of  great  annoyance.  In  Lincoln's  time  they  had 
been  marked  by  disgraceful  vandalism;  even  when 
that  was  not  true,  there  were  violations  of  what  one 
would  think  the  simplest  rules  of  good  breeding. 
Carelessly  dressed  women  who  had  not  even  taken 
the  trouble  to  smooth  their  hair  or  wash  their  faces 
elbowed — sometimes  sharply — women  in  dainty  even 
ing  gowns.  Sleepy  children  were  dragged  into  the 
crush.  Cloaks  which  were  often  greasy  with  dirt 
were  worn  into  the  very  presence  of  the  receiving 
party.  It  had  become  evident  that  the  time  for 
being  democratic  was  not  at  evening  receptions. 
Tourists  and  the  curious  generally  could  shake  the 
hand  of  the  President  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  neces 
sary  to  have  some  more  dignified  forms  for  evening 
entertainment. 

The  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  consulted  with  Sec 
retary  Evarts,  who  had  a  great  deal  of  influence  over 
the  administration  in  social  matters  as  well  as  in 
affairs  of  state.  I  have  among  my  papers  memo 
randa  in  his  handwriting  for  use  in  White  House  en 
tertaining.  On  this  occasion  they  decided  to  send 
out  invitations  for  a  reception  to  the  Diplomatic 
Corps.  The  Senators  and  Members  of  Congress,  the 
Army  and  Navy,'  the  Judiciary,  and  all  higher  officials 
were  invited. 

The  reception  made  up  for  any  deficiencies  in  the 
hastily  engraved  cards.     There  were  about  a  thou 
sand  guests — I  know  there  was  that  number  at  the 
last  reception  of  the  Hayes  administration,  and  I 
17  249 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

think  this  one  could  not  have  fallen  far  short.  The 
White  House  was  beautifully  decorated,  and  the  re 
freshments  were  unusual  when  one  considered  how 
many  there  were  to  enjoy  them.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  nothing  was  wanting.  The  state  dining-room 
and  the  family  dining-room  were  used;  and  some  of 
the  up-stairs  rooms,  the  library,  and  the  offices  were 
utilized  as  little  refreshment-rooms,  and  here  were 
served  terrapin,  sweetbreads,  bouillon,  patties,  salads, 
cream  and  ices,  cakes,  coffee,  sweetmeats  in  variety — 
everything  that  is  possible  for  a  buffet  supper  except 
the  forbidden  wines  and  punches. 

Mrs.  Hayes  always  had  a  peculiar  fondness  for  girls. 
She  loved  to  surround  herself  with  young  and  pretty 
faces.  There  were  always  young  women  guests  at 
the  White  House,  sometimes  relatives,  sometimes 
friends  or  the  daughters  of  old  friends.  The  number 
of  luncheons  for  women,  young  and  old,  and  the  love 
ly  spirit  of  sunny  friendliness  prevalent  at  them, 
made  Mrs.  Hayes's  reign  one  long  to  be  remembered. 
The  culminating  feature  of  it  all  was  a  great  luncheon 
given  by  the  President's  wife  in  the  last  year  of  the 
administration  to  her  seven  house  guests.  Among 
the  fifty  women  invited  to  meet  her  friends  were 
many  who  have  since  become  prominent  in  the  so 
cial,  political,  and  diplomatic  life  of  the  nation. 

Every  Thanksgiving  Day  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Hayes  gave  a  dinner  to  the  secretaries  and  clerks  and 
their  families,  carrying  out  the  true  spirit  of  the  day 
by  making  it  an  occasion  for  the  children.  The  Presi 
dent  used  to  call  the  gathering  ''my  office  family 

250 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  HAYES  ADMINISTRATION 

reunion."  Dinner  was  served  early  in  the  evening, 
so  that  the  little  ones  could  come.  There  were  place- 
cards  for  each  and  souvenirs  for  the  children.  The 
dinner  was  as  elaborately  served  as  the  most  cere 
monious  of  the  state  dinners.  Each  year  President 
Hayes  took  in  a  different  lady.  The  last  Thanks 
giving  of  his  term  it  was  my  wife  to  whom  he  gave 
his  arm. 

After  dinner  every  one  gathered  in  the  Red  Parlor, 
and  Mrs.  Hayes  played  games  with  the  children- 
pussy  wants  a  corner,  pass  the  button,  and  the  like, 
Fanny  and  Scott  joining  in.  At  last  all,  about 
twenty-five  in  the  company,  drifted  about  the  piano. 
Mrs.  Hayes  played,  and  we  all  sang  hymns  together 
— sweet  old  Methodist  tunes,  for  the  President  and 
his  wife  were  identified  with  the  old  Foundry  Church. 
I  suppose  some  persons  would  feel  inclined  to  smile 
at  the  simplicity  of  it  all;  but  not  any  one  who  was 
there. 

I  do  not  know  whether  Thanksgiving  or  Christmas 
was  better.  At  Christmas-time  Mrs.  Hayes  had  a  pres 
ent  for  every  one  of  the  household,  secretaries,  clerks, 
doorkeepers.  Sometimes  she  bought  the  presents 
herself,  in  which  case  she  would  be  at  work  for  weeks 
beforehand.  Sometimes,  when  she  was  rushed,  she 
commissioned  Webb  Hayes  and  me  to  buy  them.  At 
those  times  there  would  be  a  card  for  each  one,  to 
give  the  more  personal  touch.  At  about  noon  on 
Christmas  Day  every  one  was  called  into  the  library. 
There,  in  a  heap  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  were  the 
presents.  Beside  them  waited  President  and  Mrs. 

251 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

Hayes,  and  little  Miss  Fanny  and  Seott  waited  "  first 
on  one  foot  and  then  on  t'other"  for  the  festivities  to 
begin.  The  President  or  his  wife  read  out  the  names 
and  picked  out  the  presents,  and  the  two  children 
danced  about  distributing  them.  I  remember  my 
gift  the  first  year  was  a  fine  plated  silver  water- 
pitcher,  which  I  am  still  using.  It  was  a  real  Christ 
mas  that  came  to  the  White  House  in  those  days,  and 
Mrs.  Hayes's  smile  was  better  than  eggnog. 

Mr.  Webb  Hayes  was  the  originator  of  a  method  of 
making  a  sort  of  social  history  of  the  administration. 
Maj.  O.  L.  Pruden,  of  thq  White  House  staff,  was  di 
rected  to  keep  in  a  bound  volume  a  list  of  entertain 
ments  and  guests.  Major  Pruden,  having  a  pen  the 
cleverness  of  which  he  himself  had  not  suspected,  be 
gan  to  enter  details  in  ornamental  type.  Under  the 
encouragement  of  Mr.  Webb  Hayes,  he  became  more 
ambitious  in  his  artistic  effects.  Finally,  each  page 
was  made  brilliant  by  elaborate  devices  of  line  and 
color.  Scrolls,  wreaths  of  flowers,  foliage,  pictured 
wedding  bells,  flags,  coats  of  arms  and  pennants,  and 
the  names  of  guests  and  entertainers,  entered  in  fine 
and  exact  penmanship,  make  the  Hayes's  "Social 
Register,"  now  in  the  possession  of  Maj.  Webb  Hayes, 
a  unique  volume. 

The  last  months  of  the  Hayes  administration  was 
marked  by  a  great  number  of  brilliant  functions, 
including,  on  the  i5th  of  December,  the  great  dinner 
to  ex- President  and  Mrs.  Grant;  and  in  February  a 
dinner  to  the  trustees  of  the  Peabody  Educational 
Fund.  There  was  also  a  dinner  to  Mrs.  John  Jacob 

252 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  HAYES  ADMINISTRATION 

Astor,  and  the  luncheon  to  the  young  ladies  already 
mentioned.  Major  Pruden  had  outdone  himself  in 
the  elaboration  of  his  artistic  effects.  He  adapted 
his  color  scheme  and  floral  effects  to  the  case  in  hand. 
The  young  ladies  were  fitly  celebrated  in  wreaths  of 
pink  rosebuds ;  the  great  banquet  to  the  President 
elect  and  Mrs.  Garfield  on  the  3d  of  March  was  made 
brave  by  many  a  device  in  which  the  flag  and  the 
national  colors  played  their  part.  It  was  at  that 
dinner,  by -the -way,  that  youth  and  age  met  in  a 
friendly  and  sympathetic  fashion.  For  "Grandma 
Garfield,"  being  unequal  to  a  whole  evening  of  state 
dining,  retired  early,  and  Miss  Fanny  Hayes  had  her 
first  experience  with  the  splendors  of  an  official 
banquet.  For  an  hour  or  so  Mrs.  Hayes  let  her  little 
daughter  take  Grandma  Garfield 's  place  at  table. 

But  it  all  had  to  come  to  an  end.  Only  two  months 
after  that  last  Christmas,  and  it  was  Inauguration 
Day  again.  I  was  driving  with  President  Hayes  to 
the  Capitol  for  the  last  time.  He  went  there  to  sign 
any  bills  that  might  be  waiting  for  his  signature.  As 
it  happened,  there  was  none  ready;  so  he  told  the 
coachman  to  drive  to  the  Riggs  Hotel  for  General 
Garfield.  In  the  quiet  of  the  carriage  he  turned  to 
me  and  said : 

"I  didn't  have  time  to  say  what  I  wanted  to  to  the 
rest.  Will  you  take  a  message  for  me?" 

"Indeed  I  will,  Mr.  President,"  I  said. 

"Say  to  every  one  connected  with  my  office,"  he 
said,  "that  I  want  them  to  know  that  I  appreciate 
their  services  very  highly,  and  am  very  grateful  for 

253 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

their  fidelity  to  my  interests.  I  want  them  to  know 
how  I  feel  toward  them.  I  stand  ready  at  all  times 
to  serve  them,  and  will  speak  to  General  Garfield  on 
their  behalf."  He  was  really  moved. 

Now,  other  Presidents  have  met  with  as  great 
faithfulness  in  their  subordinates  as  did  President 
Hayes;  other  men  were  better  served  who  had  no 
such  feeling  about  their  office  force.  But  here  was 
a  man  who  thought  of  those  things,  who  considered 
the  other  man  as  much  as  himself.  Mr.  Hayes  kept 
his  promise  absolutely.  Whenever  he  could  serve 
any  one  of  us  he  did  so.  He  did  his  best  to  help  me 
get  the  back  money  that  was  due  me  from  Congress ; 
he  wrote  to  President  Harrison  in  my  behalf,  besides 
making  the  recommendation  to  General  Garfield  of 
which  he  spoke.  Moreover,  he  asked  me  many  times 
to  visit  him.  In  one  of  his  letters  he  says : 

"Do  not  forget  the  old  song  is  still  true  here, 

"  The  latch-string  hangs  outside  the  door 
And  is  never  pulled  through." 

I  had  no  more  claim  upon  him  than  another.  It 
was  just  that  it  was  his  nature  to  be  hospitable. 

After  the  inauguration,  the  family  went  to  the  home 
of  Secretary  Sherman,  where  several  of  us  called  to 
say  good-bye. 

It  was  most  unhappily  that  a  printed  form  came 
to  me  from  Spiegel  Grove.  It  was  dated  July  2,  1889, 
and  said : 

The  friends  who  have  sent  telegraphic  messages,  letters, 
floral  tributes,  and  newspaper  articles,  tokens  of  their  regard 

254 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  HAYES  ADMINISTRATION 

for  Mrs.  Hayes  and  of  sympathy  with  me  and  my  family, 
are  so  numerous  that  I  cannot,  by  the  use  of  the  pen  alone, 
within  the  time  it  ought  to  be  done,  suitably  express  to  all 
of  them  my  gratitude  and  thanks. 

I  therefore  beg  them  to  excuse  me  for  sending  in  this  form 
my  assurance  of  the  fullest  appreciation  of  their  kindness, 
and  of  my  lasting  and  heartfelt  obligation  to  each  of  them. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  page  he  had  written  in  his 
own  hand: 

All  your  kind  words  find  their  way  to  my  heart. 
Thankfully, 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

The  last  time  I  saw  General  Hayes  was  at  the  Grand 
Army  Reunion  in  Washington  in  1892.  That  evening 
I  went  to  call  on  him  at  the  house  on  K  Street  where 
he  was  staying.  He  was  at  dinner,  but  he  left  the 
table  and  came  up  to  see  me. 

"I  would  rather  have  a  talk  with  you  about  old 
times  than  eat  my  dinner,"  he  said,  genially.  And 
so  we  chatted  until  we  said  good-bye  for  the  last 
time. 


XIV 

GARFIELD  AND   ARTHUR 

THERE  was  genial  good-feeling  in  the  air  when 
James  A.  Garfield  took  the  oath  of  office.  His 
nomination  had  been  so  much  of  a  surprise — to  no 
man  more  than  to  the  nominee,  who  sat  in  a  stupor 
of  surprise  while  the  convention  stampeded  around 
him — that  not  even  we  of  the  office  force  had  had 
time  to  wear  out  our  interest  in  talk.  There  was 
nothing  of  the  tragedy  of  disappointed  hopes  that 
sometimes  makes  the  departure  of  a  President  hard 
to  contemplate.  For  General  Hayes  did  not  believe 
in  second  terms,  had  not  coveted  one  for  himself,  and 
was  only  too  glad  to  retire  into  private  life.  The 
welcome  given  General  and  Mrs.  Garfield  by  the  re 
tiring  White  House  family  was  more  than  the  con 
ventional,  decent  exercise  of  courtesy.  It  was  marked 
by  real  warmth,  for  the  Garfield  and  the  Hayes  fami 
lies  were  friends. 

Garfield  was  a  man  of  many  friends.  I  think  that 
was  the  first  impression  that  the  new  President  made 
upon  me.  And  now  I  have  come  to  believe  that  that 
determined  at  once  much  of  his  strength  and  his 
weakness.  A  hearty  and  virile  force  marked  him. 
He  was  a  fine-looking  man  and  well  set-up.  His  eyes 

256 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

were  bright  gray,  his  voice  was  mellow  and  vibrant. 
He  could  not  pick  up  a  book  or  lay  down  a  paper 
without  revealing  physical  force.  He  had  had  a 
career  of  many  phases — always  upward — as  a  toiling 
boy,  a  teacher,  a  college  president,  in  the  army,  in 
Congress.  He  was  a  good  fellow  and  companionable. 
And  everywhere  the  men  around  him  were  his  friends. 
His  path  was  marked  by  them. 

They  thronged  around  him  now.  But  political 
ascendency  is  a  touchstone  to  display — not  the  best 
but  the  worst.  The  men  who  had  once  been  satisfied 
to  spend  pleasant  evenings  with  the  new  President 
began  now  to  think  of  place.  The  White  House 
offices  were  full  of  them.  I  was  in  charge  of  the 
reception-room  where  men  waited,  and  I  had  my  fill 
of  them.  Old  friends  demanded  embassies,  post- 
offices,  clerkships.  One  of  them  assumed  the  position 
of  an  intimate  of  the  White  House  and,  not  satisfied 
with  a  comfortable  Government  berth,  pushed  him 
self  in  past  the  doors  that  marked  the  private  domain 
of  the  family  and  took  his  afternoon  siesta  upon  the 
most  comfortable  sofa  he  could  find.  The  disin 
terested  ones  were  hurt  because  they  could  not  chat 
with  the  President  with  the  same  ease  that  had 
marked  their  visiting  with  "Jim  Garfield."  {Robert 
G.  Ingersoll  was  one  of  these— "Royal  Bob"  Garfield 
had  christened  him.  Pew  were  nearer  to  the  Presi 
dent  than  he.  Yet  he  had  to  wait  long  hours  in  the 
anteroom.  There  he  was  besieged  by  office-seekers 
who  wished  to  make  use  of  his  supposed  interest  with 
the  President.  Impatience  may  have  colored  his 

257 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

caustic  answer  to  one  of  the  applicants.  This  was 
a  seedy-looking  fellow  with  long,  lank  locks. 

"Colonel  Ingersoll,"  he  said,  "can't  I  have  your 
indorsement?  You  know  me.  I  want  a  position  as 
chaplain  in  the  army." 

Colonel  Ingersoll  turned  a  moment  from  the  group 
of  friends  with  whom  he  was  talking,  and  eyed  him : 

"Yes,"  he  said;  "I  know  you.  You're  a  preacher 
I've  met  somewhere.  You're  just  the  man  for  my 
indorsement.  You  have  as  little  religion  as  any  man 
I  know.  You  won't  hurt  any  one."  And  he  turned 
his  broad  person  and  chubby  face  back  to  the  laugh 
ing  crowd. 

But  there  came  a  day  when  the  Colonel  himself 
exploded  in  wrath. 

"I'm  tired  of  hanging  around  here,"  he  said,  "kick 
ing  my  heels  in  the  anteroom.  I've  had  too  many 
games  of  billiards  with  Jim  Garfield  to  stand  this." 
And  he  marched  out. 

I  imagine  the  President  and  his  wife  got  as  little 
pleasure  out  of  the  restrictions  of  official  life  as  did 
Colonel  Ingersoll.  A  shade  settled  over  Mr.  Garfield 's 
face,  and  Mrs.  Garfield  showed  little  pleasure  in  her 
position.  They  were  people  of  simple  tastes.  We 
had  small  opportunity  to  know  Mrs.  Garfield  in  the 
few  months  before  the  blow  came.  She  was  not  strong 
at  any  time,  was  ill  during  some  weeks,  and  was 
occupied  chiefly  in  an  attempt  to  secure  some  privacy 
for  herself  and  her  family,  and  to  organize  their  life, 
reserving  as  much  time  as  possible  for  the  domestic 
life  she  loved.  The  sons  of  the  house — Henry  A., 

258 


JAMES      A.      GARFIELD 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

James  R.,  and  Abram — and  little  Miss  Mollie  enjoyed 
the  life  as  boys  and  girls  always  do  any  novelty.  The 
hours  saved  from  their  tutor,  Mr.  Hawkes,  who  taught 
the  White  House  boys  in  company  with  Colonel  Rock 
well's  son,  were  not  long  enough  for  the  things  they 
found  to  do. 

I  find  in  my  diary  notes  of  the  usual  excitement 
and  suspense  accompanying  each  new  administra 
tion,  the  days  spent  in  wondering  whether  the  general 
shaking-up  would  be  extended  to  the  executive  office.; 
On  the  5th  of  March,  a  day  given  over  to  marching 
bands  and  curious  crowds,  the  President  visited  the 
office.  Mr.  Rogers,  the  private  secretary  of  Presi 
dent  Hayes,  remained  a  few  days  to  help  Mr.  J. 
Stanley  Brown,  the  new  and  very  young  private 
secretary,  to  organize  the  office.  On  the  xoth  of 
March  I  was  called  into  the  cabinet-room.  When  I 
got  there  I  found  it  was  to  administer  the  oath  of 
office  for  Secretary  of  War  to  Mr.  Robert  Lincoln, 
whom  I  had  known  as  a  Harvard  student  in  his 
father's  administration. 

"Why,  hello,  Colonel!"  he  said.  And  when  I  re 
plied:  "How  are  you,  Mr.  Secretary?"  he  said:  "I'm 
not  that  yet."  But  then  he  took  the  oath  and  my 
mistake  was  remedied.  It  seemed  good  to  hear  the 
name  Lincoln  about  the  White  House.  And  this  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  always  shown  me  much  of  his  father's 
pleasant  kindliness.  He  took  this  occasion  to  speak 
to  President  Garfield  of  my  long  service,  my  faith 
fulness  to  President  Lincoln,  and  his  own  wish  that 
I  might  be  retained.  This  brought  forth  an  appre- 

259 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

ciative  answer  from  the  President.  So  after  this,  I, 
for  one,  felt  reassured. 

After  all,  with  one  exception,  there  were  no  changes 
in  the  executive  office.  In  fact,  even  when  the  spoils 
system  has  held  unquestioned  sway  over  other  Gov 
ernment  offices,  Civil-Service  Reform  has  usually  been 
observed  in  the  personnel  of  the  President's  own  office. 
And  that  in  itself  is  an  interesting  point,  since  the 
chief  appointing  power  has  realized  that  efficiency  can 
be  obtained  only  where  appointments  and  removals 
have  been  separated  from  party  strife. 

That  question  settled,  we  were  next  interested  in 
the  appointment  of  those  officials  with  whom  we  would 
have  most  to  do.  Cabinet-making  was  in  order.  The 
appointment  of  James  G.  Elaine,  the  late  Speaker  of 
the  House,  as  Secretary  of  State,  could  hardly  have 
surprised  any  one.  In  addition  to  his  position  on 
political  affairs  he  was  a  personal  friend  of  Garfield's. 
"Gaffy"  he  was  in  the  intimate  conversation  of  the 
Blaine  family.  It  was  an  interesting  thing  to  see 
these  two  men,  both  so  vital,  so  ambitious,  so  full  of 
attraction  for  each  other  and  for  other  men,  together. 
They  made  much  the  same  impression  of  virility,  of 
vigor.  Garfield  has  been  said  to  have  been  better 
equipped  in  breadth  of  view,  in  actual  mental  power, 
than  his  Secretary  of  State.  But  Blaine  made  up  for 
this  in  his  superior  skill  in  managing  men.  He  had 
the  invaluable  faculty  of  never  forgetting  a  name  or 
a  personality.  There  have  been  few  more  interesting 
personalities  in  the  public  life  of  any  nation  than 
James  G.  Blaine.  There  was  in  him  something  of 

260 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

the  Celt,  something  of  the  Saxon,  something  of  the 
poet,  much  of  the  orator,  that  peculiar  blend  of  tem 
peraments  in  which  the  elemental  power  of  a  crowd 
goes  to  the  head  like  wine,  but  Vine  which  clears  the 
brain,  focuses  all  the  faculties  into  the  one  masculine 
passion  for  domination.  The  President's  power,  on 
the  contrary,  lay  not  so  much  in  swaying  a  crowd- 
though  he  was  a  fine  orator — as  in  logical  analysis  of 
a  situation  rather  than  in  power  to  force  his  conclu 
sions  on  others,  in  the  warmth  rather  than  in  the  pas 
sion  of  personal  attachments. 

Scarcely  less  interesting  than  the  personalities  of 
these  two  friends  was  that  of  Mrs.  Elaine.  Unpopular 
with  many  she  was,  both  at  this  time  and  later.  An 
incident  of  a  sort  to  explain  some  of  the  reasons  for  her 
unpopularity  I  will  give  later  on.  Strong,  dominant, 
partisan — intensely  so — lacking  just  that  balance  that 
would  have  enabled  her  to  keep  back  a  clever  retort 
or  characterization  trembling  on  her  tongue  when  its 
utterance  would  be  unpolitic,  she  marched  proudly 
on  her  way  by  her  husband's  side.  The  brilliant  mind 
and  clever  tongue  have  lived  chiefly  in  the  shrewd  or 
cutting  phrase  which — after  it  had  done  its  work  of 
making  an  enemy  of  the  public  servitor  it  tagged  - 
passed  often  into  an  aphorism  of  Washington  life. 
The  heart  whose  loyalties  or  antipathies  prompted 
the  phrase  has  lived  in  the  memory  of  those  who  re 
ceived  its  devotion. 

Much  has  been  said  regarding  the  influence  that 
Mrs.  Elaine  had  over  her  husband,  and,  like  most  such 
reports,  it  has  probably  been  exaggerated.  But  that 

261 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

she  shared  Secretary  Elaine's  counsels  more  than 
usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  wives  of  public  men  is 
undoubtedly  true.  In  one  of  her  letters  she  says,  pos 
sibly  with  the  almost  constantly  present  license  of 
her  humor:  "I  have  been  helping  Father  pick  out 
Gaffy's  cabinet."  However  doubtful  it  may  be  that 
the  "helping"  went  any  further  than  the  clarifying 
influence  exerted  by  the  mere  act  of  discussion,  or 
that  the  "picking"  was  aimed  to  do  more  than  to 
present  the  premier  Secretary's  opinions  to  his  Head, 
it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  "the  Blaines"  were  to 
have  been  a  potent  influence  in  the  opening  adminis 
tration. 

Many  persons  thought  that  it  was  an  undue  in 
fluence.  That,  of  course,  is  not  to  be  decided  until 
later  years  when  personal  feeling  is  absent.  But  there 
were  one  or  two  circumstances  that  came  under  my 
observation  to  show  that  Secretary  Elaine  had  pos 
sibly  a  closer  association  with  the  President  than  has 
usually  been  the  case  where  the  President  and  the 
Secretary  of  State  have  not  been  in  so  complete  har 
mony.  It  was  generally  believed  in  the  office  that 
Secretary  Elaine  was  kept  informed  by  some  member 
of  the  President's  office  force  of  all  events  of  impor 
tance  connected  with  the  daily  routine — what  persons 
had  called,  what  was  their  business,  and  the  like.  I 
had  myself  observed  repeatedly  that  on  cabinet  days 
Secretary  Elaine  would  arrive  early  and  be  closeted 
with  the  President  for  some  time  before  the  rest  of 
the  cabinet  officials  arrived.  When  the  meeting  was 
called,  the  Secretary  of  State,  instead  of  going  into  the 

262 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

room  with  the  President,  would  come  in  through  the 
door  leading  from  the  main  entrance  as  though  he  had 
just  entered  the  White  House.  In  this  manner  the 
President  and  the  Secretary  of  State  were  able  to  act 
in  concert  on  all  matters  of  public  policy,  more  effec 
tively  so  than  if  they  had  not  had  these  conferences. 
It  would  naturally  be  true  that  they  formed  a  party 
in  cabinet  discussions,  apart  from,  and  possibly  in 
opposition  to,  the  other  members.] 

JL  don't  know  that  any  one  could  Elaine  the  President 
for  seeking  harmony  where  harmony  was  to  be  had. 
For  there  has  never  been  a  cabinet  which  contained 
more  elements  foreboding  dissension.  The  necessity 
of  considering  the  "Stalwart"  element,  disappointed 
in  its  desire  to  make  General  Grant  President,  brought 
men  into  office  who  were  united  to  the  President  only 
by  much-strained  party  bonds.  Conkling's  claims 
to  patronage  were  a  fruitful  source  of  strife.  The 
miserable  Star  Route  scandal  demanded  investigation. 
And  some  of  the  President's  former  political  friends 
were  involved  in  that.  He  was  beginning  to  be  torn 
between  allegiance  to  party  lines  and  his  duty  to  the 
whole  country.  I  know  of  no  administration  that 
promised  to  be  more  full  of  bitterness  and  strife  than 
that  of  Garfield. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  administration  the 
executive  office  heard  various  echoes  of  the  fight  that 
was  being  waged  with  Conkling  over  the  New  York 
Custom-House  appointment.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  degree  to  which  Secretary  Elaine  had  im 
pressed  his  own  enmity  for  Conkling — Conkling  with 

263 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

his  "haughty  disdain,  his  grandiloquent  swell,  his 
majestic,  supereminent,  overpowering,  turkey-gobbler 
strut,"  as  Elaine  had  labelled  him  during  one  of  their 
Congressional  tilts — the  President  evidently  thought 
he  was  right  in  refusing  to  give  Conkling's  man  the 
place.  And  the  executive  antagonism  to  the  New 
York  statesman  was  reflected  in  the  feeling  of  many 
of  his  subordinates.  Conkling-baiters  were  popular 
at  the  White  House.  I  remember  on  one  occasion 
that  Justice  Field  was  inconvenienced  by  this  fact. 
He  came  to  see  the  President.  He  was  invited 
into  the  private  secretary's  office  and  there  he  waited 
for  almost  an  hour.  Then  he  became  impatient  and 
asked  Mr.  Stanley  Brown  when  he  could  see  the  Presi 
dent.  When  he  was  told  that  the  President  was  en 
gaged  he  became  indignant  at  having  been  kept 
waiting  so  long.  One  of  the  little  tempests  that  so 
often  occur  seemed  brewing.  I  tried  to  smooth 
things  over,  but  Mr.  Brown  at  first  refused  to  do 
anything,  saying,  with  natural  youthful  partisan 
ship: 

"The  President  is  talking  with  Senator  Sawyer, 
who  is  bearing  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  Conkling 
fight.  Just  now  he  is  of  more  importance  than  any 
one  else!"  However,  a  note  was  dispatched  to 
Justice  Field,  so  that  little  matter  passed  over. 

When  the  news  was  brought  of  the  resignation  of 
Senators  Conkling  and  Platt  there  was  great  excite 
ment  in  the  office.  Newspaper  reporters  came  rush 
ing  in  to  see  how  we  took  the  news.  People  darted 
up  to  shake  us  by  the  hand  and  say  that  the  country 

264 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

was  well  rid  of  them.     Mr.  Brown  was  as  exultant  as 
if  his  nine  had  won  a  baseball  game. 

"Mad  boy!"  he  cried,  in  parody  of  Conkling's  sup 
posed  rage;    "take  my  baseball  bat  and  go  right 

home!" 

Now  that  those  "who  bore  the  burden  and  heat  of 
the  conflict"  have  gone,  and  those  who  felt  so  keenly 
about  it  can  look  back,  it  is  evident  how  unfortunate 
was  the  Conkling  quarrel.     For  it  complicated  and 
embittered  the  few  months  before  President  Garfield 
was  shot.     It  got  itself  into  the  Star  Route  scandal; 
some   men   thought   that   it   acted   upon   Guiteau's 
sinister  folly;  and  the  fruit  of  it  was  an  ugly  suspicion 
that  embittered  the  whole  administration  that  fol 
lowed.     There  was  certainly  abundant  reason  for  the 
feeling  against  Conkling.     I  suppose  there  was  rea 
son,  too,  for  Conkling's  feeling  that  he  had  been  be 
trayed;    since,  for  once  in  his  political  life,  he  had 
sunk  his  personal  animosities  for  the  good  of  his  party 
when  he  campaigned  for  Garfield.     And  it  must  have 
been  a  pretty  bitter  thing  to  have  found  himself 
ignored  by  the  administration  he  had  helped  to  in 
stall.     There  were  men  who  said  that  the  President 
had  made  a  promise  to  him  which  he  broke.     How 
ever  that  may  have  been,  it  was  a  great  fight  to  see— 
from  the  grand-stand. 

The  preparations  for  the  prosecution  of  the  Govern 
ment  employees  who  had  been  defrauding  the  country 
of  millions  by  drawing  pay  for  serving  spurious  mail- 
routes—in  other  words,  the  Star  Route  criminals- 
promised  to  make  a  great  deal  of  trouble  for  the 
18  265 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

President.  The  fact  that  some  of  the  President's 
personal  and  political  friends  were  implicated  in  the 
Star  Route  affair  made  his  position  a  most  difficult 
one.  It's  a  very  good  thing  to  have  friends.  But 
when  they  get  to  fighting  they  are  calculated  to  make 
the  centre  of  the  rush-line  in  a  football  game  seem  a 
peaceful  retreat. 

There  was  just  one  thing  necessary  to  draw  the 
attention  of  the  whole  country  to  the  evils  of  the 
spoils  system,  with  its  consequent  struggles  for 
patronage.  And  that  thing  happened. 
\It  was  early  in  the  administration  that  Charles 
Guiteau,  of  Illinois,  one  of  an  army  of  office-seekers, 
came  to  Washington  to  ask  the  President  for  a  posi 
tion.  He  wished  to  be  appointed  to  the  diplomatic 
service;  from  St.  James  to  Boma  there  was  no  post 
he  did  not  consider  himself  capable  of  filling.  I  re 
member  very  little  about  him,  beyond  the  fact  that 
he  called  daily  until  the  i3th  of  May,  when  I  came 
into  collision  with  him.  On  that  day  he  came  into 
the  reception-room  early  in  the  morning  and  asked 
for  paper — he  wanted  to  send  in  a  message  to  the 
President.  I  gave  him  some  stationery  and  he  wrote 
his  note  and  left  to  go  to  the  Treasury  Department. 
In  a  short  time  he  was  back  again,  this  time  evi 
dently  under  some  excitement,  asking  for  paper 
again. 

"The  office  is  supplying  you  with  a  good  deal  of 
stationery  of  late,"  I  said,  good-naturedly  enough, 
and  just  for  the  sake  of  saying  something.  As  I 
spoke  I  handed  him  some  sheets. 

266 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

"I  want  some  more  of  the  kind  I  had  this  morn 
ing,"  he  said. 

"But  that  was  a  sample  we  happened  to  have  of 
blue  English  paper.  The  man  who  came  after  you 
used  up  what  you  left,  and  we  have  no  more." 

"That's  the  kind  I  want."  He  was  angry  now,  and 
he  would  have  no  other.  When  it  was  not  produced 
he  became  still  angrier. 

"Do  you  know  who  I  am?"  he  demanded,  im 
pressively. 

I  was  getting  a  little  bit  tired  of  his  airs.  "I  don't 
know  that  you  are  anybody  in  particular." 

Upon  this  he  pulled  out  a  card — I  have  it  to-day— 
and  slapped  it  down  on  my  desk  most  dramatically. 

"This  is  my  card,  sir.  I  am  one  of  the  men  that 
made  Garfield  President." 

"Which  one?"  I  asked,  not  taking  any  great  pains, 
I  suppose,  not  to  smile.  "At  least  twenty  men  have 
already  claimed  that  honor.  It  would  simplify  things 
so  much,  you  know,  if  we  could  hit  on  the  one,  give 
him  his  reward,  and  end  it." 

He  didn't  seem  to  consider  this  humorous  at  all,  but 
turned  on  his  heel  and  sought  a  corner  of  the  reception- 
room,  where  he  sat  glowering.  Then  I  consulted  with 
Mr.  Brown,  thinking  I  might  have  made  a  mistake 
and  that  he  might  really  have  some  claim  upon  us. 

"No,  no,"  said  Mr.  Brown.  "Guiteau  is  a  fraud 
and  ought  to  be  suppressed."  It  happened  that  that 
was  the  last  visit  he  made,  for  he  was  refused  ad 
mission  to  the  White  House  on  that  day. 

I  don't  know  what  there  was  in  the  man's  demeanor 

267 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

that  made  me  notice  him  particularly,  because  we 
were  always  having  to  deal  with  queer  characters. 
But  when  I  went  back  to  my  desk  I  made  a  rough 
pencil  sketch  of  him,  as  he  sat  in  gloomy  displeasure, 
in  a  diary  in  which  I  sometimes  made  notes  of  curious 
or  interesting  features  of  White  House  life.  I  wrote 
beside  the  sketch :  "This  fellow  put  on  more  airs  than 
is  usual  for  a  man  who  is  begging  for  office !  Charles 
Guiteau,  of  Illinois.  One  of  the  men  who  made  Gar- 
field  President."  I  made  no  pretensions  to  be  an 
artist — far  from  it.  But  it  happened  that  on  the 
2d  of  July,  when  newspaper  reporters  came  rushing 
to  us  to  learn  all  they  could  concerning  Guiteau,  this 
pencil  scratching  of  mine  was  seized  upon  by  the 
artist  of  one  of  the  New  York  papers,  and  served  as 
the  basis  of  the  first  picture  of  Guiteau  published  after 
the  assassination. 

After  this  incident  Guiteau,  nothing  daunted  by 
having  been  refused  admission,  called  daily  at  the 
White  House.  Each  time  he  inquired  solicitously 
about  the  President's  health  and  then  went  quietly 
away.  There  was  nothing  suspicious  in  his  manner, 
although  the  letters  he  wrote  to  the  President  might 
have  warned  us  all  had  we  not  been  so  accustomed 
to  cranks  and  their  missives. 

Even  when  I  met  him  at  the  White  House  the  even 
ing  before  the  assassination  no  thought  of  danger 
occurred  to  me.  I  had  to  go  to  the  office  to  pay  the 
salary  of  one  of  the  officials  who  was  going  away.  As 
I  approached  the  north  entrance  from  the  west, 
Guiteau  left  it  and  walked  away  toward  the  State 

268 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

Department.  I  asked  the  doorkeeper  what  he 
wanted : 

"Just  to  inquire  about  the  President's  health,"  was 
the  reply.  I  told  Mr.  Brown  this,  but  the  matter 
ended  there. 

The  fault  in  the  matter,  if  fault  there  was,  was  part 
of  the  general  system  and  had  obtained  for  a  long 
time.  When  applicants  put  forward  their  requests 
for  office,  the  rule  was  to  reply  that  the  applications 
would  be  put  on  file  and  considered.  In  the  ma 
jority  of  cases  there  was  not, the  slightest  possibility 
of  any  position  being  granted.  It  was  just  the  usual 
human  method  of  saving  trouble  and  avoiding  a 
scene.  Men  often  waste  months  waiting,  hanging 
about  the  White  House  and  the  various  departments. 
If  at  the  outset  they  were  told  there  was  no  posi 
tion  for  them  they  might  be  disappointed  for  the 
moment,  but  the  Government  would  be  spared 
time  and  expense,  and  many  a  life  might  be  saved 
from  shipwreck.  It  is  not  often  that  such  devas 
tation  is  wrought  as  in  the  case  of  Guiteau,  but, 
in  a  minor  degree,  millions  of  men  have  been  in 
jured  by  just  such  tactics.  Following  the  event,  the 
usual  number  of  persons  came  forward  with  accounts 
of  premonitions  of  ill  to  the  President  at  the  hands 
of  Guiteau.  tSut  the  truth  was  merely  that  Guiteau 
had  made  himself  somewhat  conspicuous.  There  was 
no  more  reason  to  think  of  him  as  a  possible  assassin 
than  of  many  others.  I  have  been  told  that  Secretary 
Blaine  exclaimed,  when  he  first  heard  the  President 
had  been  shot:  "Guiteau  did  this!" — having  in  mind 

269 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

the  threatening  letters  Guiteau  had  written  to  the 
President.  But  he  might  have  had  the  same  feeling 
regarding  half  a  dozen  others — who  finally  went  quiet 
ly  home  and  were  never  heard  of  again. 

But  President  Garfield,  with  his  wholesome  vigor, 
his  problems  of  patronage,  his  proceeding  against  the 
Star  Route  conspirators,  his  growing  sense  of  lack  of 
harmony  in  his  cabinet,  his  friendships  and  his  romps 
with  his  big,  hearty  boys,  had  no  time  in  which  to  be 
afraid  of  possible  cranks,  and  had  he  been  warned 
he  was  too  much  of  a  soldier  to  be  afraid.  And  during 
the  final  few  weeks  of  his  life  the  illness  of  Mrs.  Gar- 
field  occasioned  him  anxiety.  She  became  ill  with  a 
violent  fever.  When,  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  2ist  of  May,  Secretaries  Blaine  and  Mac- 
Veagh  came  to  see  the  President,  he  was  not  to  be 
found.  Messengers  searched  everywhere  for  him. 
At  last  they  dragged  him  out  from  behind  the  curtains 
of  his  son's  room.  He  had  hidden  there  to  be  alone 
for  a  few  minutes;  and  tears  of  weariness  filled  his 
eyes. 

Mrs.  Garfield  was  ordered  away  to  Long  Branch 
with  the  children.  And  on  the  26.  of  July,  between 
eight  and  nine,  the  President  left  to  join  his  family. 
He  was  particularly  bright,  and  as  happy  as  a  big  boy 
to  be  getting  out  of  harness  for  a  time. 

The  office  work  had  hardly  begun  for  the  day  when 
"The  President  has  been  shot!"  flashed  through  the 
White  House  in  an  instant.  While  we  were  still 
drawn  together — hoping,  fearing,  wondering — a  mes 
senger  came  to  say  he  was  on  his  way  home.  In  an 

270 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

incredibly  short  time  the  house  was  full  of  people. 
All  of  the  cabinet  officers  who  could  get  there  and 
all  of  the  cabinet  ladies  were  waiting.  Doctors  re 
sponded  to  emergency  calls  or  hurried  to  the  scene  on 
their  own  responsibility.  Orders  were  issued  to  admit 
no  one  to  the  White  House. 

In  a  wonderfully  short  time  the  carriage  rolled  up 
to  the  south  entrance.  Just  before  the  President  was 
lifted  out,  he  looked  up  at  his  office  windows  where 
his  clerks  were  gathered  and  waved  his  hand  to  us 
with  a  reassuring  smile.  When  he  was  carried  into 
the  hall,  high  on  the  shoulders  of  twelve  bearers,  he 
held  with  his  eyes  those  gathered  there  and  kissed  his 
hand.  Mrs.  Blaine — impulsive,  brilliant,  outspoken 
Mrs.  Blaine — went  into  his  room  after  he  was  car 
ried  in. 

"Don't  leave  me  until  Crete  comes,"  begged  the 
President,  showing,  for  all  his  marvellous  fortitude, 
the  effort  with  which  he  spoke.  And  then  again  he 
said  to  her:  "Whatever  happens,  take  care  of  Crete." 
And  with  tears  in  her  eyes  she  promised. 

In  a  short  time  everybody  was  excluded  except  by 
special  order  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  War — I  have 
the  first  card  granting  admission  to  the  White  House 
that  day.  In  the  absence  of  Mrs.  Garfield  there  was 
no  one  to  take  autocratic  charge,  as  is  so  necessary 
in  case  of  serious  illness.  There  was  an  assemblage 
of  doctors,  but  some  hesitation  in  organizing  the  fight 
against  death. 

Then  followed  the  agonizing  eighty  days  during 
which  the  President  fought  for  life  as  bravely  as  he 

271 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

had  battled  for  his  country  at  Chickamauga.  The 
memory  of  the  passion  of  pity,  the  suspense,  the  ten 
derness,  is  still  vivid  in  the  recollection  of  the  country 
at  large.  Public  feeling  fluctuated  with  the  reports 
on  the  bulletin-board.  But  it  can  be  imagined  how 
much  more  vehement  were  the  sympathies  of  the 
members  of  his  own  official  household,  who  waited  for 
tidings  separated  by  but  a  few  partitions  from  the 
large  room  in  the  southwest  corner  where  the  Presi 
dent  lay  suffering.  There  were  times  when  it  seemed 
as  if  his  wonderful  vitality  would  conquer — and  then 
every  one  went  around  with  a  bright  face.  I  had  a 
sort  of  blind  faith  that  he  would  recover,  and  there 
were  others,  too,  about  the  President  who  were  hope 
ful.  As  late  as  August  zyth  I  told  a  newspaper  cor 
respondent  who  was  getting  up  an  article  that  I 
believed  the  President  would  pull  through. 

The  afternoon  after  the  President  had  been  shot 
Mrs.  Garfield  came  back,  "frail,  fatigued,  desperate, 
but  firm  and  quiet  and  full  of  purpose  to  save,"  as 
Mrs.  Elaine  described  her.  The  President's  room 
and  its  smaller  communicating  apartments  were  then 
turned,  as  nearly  as  was  possible,  into  a  hospital;  the 
physician  in  charge  banished  all  visitors;  Mrs.  Gar- 
field's  own  doctor,  a  prominent  woman  physician, 
Mrs.  Susan  Edson,  acted  as  resident  doctor  and  nurse. 
Crump,  the  steward,  was  a  tireless  and  devoted  as 
sistant  ;  he  strained  himself  in  lifting  and  turning  the 
invalid,  and  has  never  been  well  since.  Colonel  Rock 
well,  Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings  and  Public 
Grounds ;  General  Swaim,  the  Judge- Advocate  Gen- 

272 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

eral  and  the  President's  personal  friend,  and  Colonel 
Henry  mounted  guard  over  the  White  House,  the 
1  'kitchen  cabinet "  the  public  grew  to  call  them.  The 
campaign  against  death  was  on! 

It  was  a  fearfully  hot  July.  It  was  soon  evident 
that  the  heat  would  prove  a  serious  obstacle  to  re 
covery.  To  reduce  the  temperature  of  the  sick-room 
the  cellar  of  the  White  House  was  turned  into  a  re 
frigerating  plant;  it  was  piled  high  with  crates  on 
crates  of  ice.  A  pipe  led  from  the  cellar  to  the  Presi 
dent's  room  and  conveyed  the  cooler  air  in  a  never- 
ending  stream.  Everything  that  the  vigilance  of  the 
physicians  could  compass  was  done  to  assist  him  in 
his  struggle  for  life. 

There  was  one  pathetic  feature  of  the  President's 
martyrdom — his  loneliness.  From  the  day  when  the 
cordon  of  physicians  closed  about  him  to  bear  him 
away  to  his  chamber  of  suffering  he  was  denied  his 
friends.  This,  of  course,  was  quite  the  proper  thing 
to  do  when  there  was  danger  of  fever;  but,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  it  was  to  end  fatally,  this  pain,  added 
to  the  physical  agony  of  a  man  who  suffered  with  a 
heroism  that  has  rarely  been  equalled,  seems  heart 
rending.  ''Royal  Bob"  and  Elaine  were  banished 
with  the  rest.  Those  of  us  who  were  about  the  White 
House  know  how  constantly  he  begged  to  see  his 
friends.  Crump  has  often  told  me  how  the  President 
begged  him  to  get  Elaine  to  his  bedside— Garfield 
loved  Elaine  like  a  brother.  And  it  is  easy  to  under 
stand  how,  in  exhaustion,  his  heart  longed  for  the  glow 
and  vitality  of  his  friend.  But  a  military  cordon  sur- 

273 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

rounded  the  White  House,  and  no  one  got  through. 
There  was  one  time  when  even  the  man's  children  were 
sent  away. 

How  his  thoughts  dwelt  where  his  eyes  could  not 
is  shown  by  the  letter  he  wrote  his  old  mother : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  August  n,  1881. 
DEAR  MOTHER, — Don't  be  disturbed  by  conflicting  reports 
about  my  condition.     It  is  true  that  I  am  still  weak  and  on 
my  back,  but  I  am  gaining  every  day,  and  need  only  time 
and  patience  to  bring  me  through. 

Give  my  love  to  all  the  relatives  and  friends,  and  especially 
to  sisters  Hetty  and  Mary. 

Your  loving  son, 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 
Mrs.  Eliza  Garfield,  Hiram,  Ohio. 

Beginning  strongly  and  steadily,  the  handwriting 
records  the  fast-ebbing  strength  until  the  last  word, 
more  a  weary  driving  of  the  pen  than  a  word,  shows 
only  too  clearly  how  soon  exhaustion  came. 

The  last  view  we  had  of  him  alive  was  on  the  6th 
of  September,  when  he  was  being  moved  to  Elberon 
in  the  hope  that  the  air  and  the  sight  of  the  sea  might 
do  for  him  what  the  doctors  could  not.  We  crowded 
to  the  windows  and  were  rewarded  by  seeing  the 
prostrate  figure  on  the  stretcher  feebly  wave  its  hand 
—a  last  token  of  amity  from  a  man  who  loved  the 
world  and  the  people  in  it. 

Very  little  was  known  in  Washington  regarding  the 
Vice-President,  now  become  President.  And  that  lit 
tle  identified  him  with  Conkling,  the  Stalwart  element. 
But  Mr.  Arthur  at  once  proved  himself  to  be  not  only 

274 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

a  man  of  kindly  and  humane  feeling,  but  possessed  of 
a  singularly  high  conception  of  personal  dignity. 

Mr.  Arthur  did  not  occupy  the  White  House  as  a 
dwelling  until  the  gth  of  December.  In  the  interim 
repairs  and  refurnishing  went  on  vigorously.  The 
President,  although  Mrs.  McElroy,  his  sister,  acted  as 
the  nominal  feminine  head  of  the  household — Mr. 
Arthur  had  lost  his  wife  but  a  short  time  before  his 
election — had  the  machinery  of  entertaining  definitely 
in  his  own  hands.  He  was  a  man  of  artistic  taste,  with 
decided  ideas  in  the  matter  of  interior  decoration. 
Every  detail  of  the  changes  wrought  he  scrutinized; 
he  made  almost  daily  hours  of  inspection,  and  they 
were  more  than  perfunctory.  This  was  a  matter  of 
real  importance  to  him,  and  he  gave  it  both  time  and 
thought. 

When  the  President  and  his  household  took  pos 
session  of  the  private  apartments  of  the  White  House 
it  became  evident  what  sharp  contrasts  there  are  in 
the  social  standards  held  together  under  a  political 
organization  in  this  big  country  of  ours.  During  the 
preceding  administrations  the  White  House  had  been 
full  of  vigorous,  overflowing  life,  often  of  the  noise 
and  laughter  and  romping  of  young  children.  The 
Presidential  family  had  been  in  essence  democratic, 
with  a  certain  respect  for  the  opinions  of  the  masses 
that  had  placed  them  where  they  were.  Their  private 
life  they  had  often  conceived  as  belonging,  in  some 
part,  to  the  public,  their  children  were  the  nation's 
children,  their  social  functions  but  rendered  to  the 
public  what  was  the  public's  due. 

275 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

With  Mr.  Arthur  a  change  took  place.  Whether,  as 
I  have  said,  he  was  influenced  by  the  cruelties  the  pub 
lic  had  heaped  upon  him,  or  whether  it  was  his  own 
idea  of  the  fitness  of  things,  a  sharp  line  was  drawn 
between  the  public  and  the  private  life  of  the  White 
House.  The  newspaper  impertinence  which  made  a 
great  furore  over  the  flowers  daily  heaped  before  a 
woman's  portrait  in  the  President's  own  room — only 
to  be  discomfited  to  find  the  portrait  that  of  the  dead 
wife — may  have  confirmed  his  determination  that  the 
public  should  have  as  little  as  possible  of  his  family 
life.  Mr.  Alan  Arthur  was  a  student  at  Princeton. 
But  little  Miss  Nellie  was  brought  up  in  as  scrupulous 
retirement  as  the  most  exacting  Continental  require 
ments  for  the  education  of  a  young  girl  would  have 
dictated.  We  saw  occasionally  a  sweet-faced  little 
girl  walking  or  driving  by  her  father's  side,  or  with 
him  in  the  halls.  As  far  as  I  know  she  was  photo 
graphed  only  once,  when,  during  one  of  her  brother's 
visits  home,  he  put  the  little  sister,  of  whom  he  made 
a  great  pet,  on  a  pony  and  had  a  picture  taken  then 
and  there.  Once  or  twice,  during  the  last  years  of 
her  father's  administration,  she  appeared  for  a  short 
time  at  an  afternoon  reception,  dressed  in  school 
girl  cashmere  or  muslin.  But  that  was  about  all 
the  public  knew  of  the  family  life  of  President  Ar 
thur. 

As  for  the  social  life,  it  again  had  two  distinct 
phases.  Mr.  Arthur  never  lost  sight  of  the  idea  that 
the  White  House  was  in  truth  the  court  of  the  Ameri 
can  people.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  scrupu- 

276 


CHESTER      A.     ARTHUR 
From  a  photograph  by  C.  M.  Bell. 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

lous  than  his  observance  of  set  form  and  precedent 
in  the  formal  social  entertaining  at  which  he  presided. 
There  was  no  possibility  of  heartburning  over  the 
question  of  precedence  at  state  functions.  Mr. 
Arthur  gave  the  subject  careful  consideration,  and 
then  organized  a  system  of  precedence  that  was 
always  maintained.  That  being  done,  he  knew  how 
to  take  such  entertaining  out  of  the  realm  of  mere 
political  necessity,  where  it  had  always  been  and,  by 
his  exquisite  courtesy,  tact,  and  skill  in  keeping  the 
conversational  ball  rolling,  make  them  social  functions 
as  well. 

But  for  his  private  affairs  he  demanded  the  liberty 
that  any  citizen  may  command.  He  had  his  own 
intimate  personal  friends  and  those  he  preferred  to 
entertain  in  his  own  way.  There  were  reports  that 
the  White  House,  so  staid  and  so  orderly  during  the 
day,  was  gay  and  even  convivial  at  night.  The  Presi 
dent  loved  late  hours ;  he  loved  to  entertain  his  friends 
in  the  small  private  dining-room,  made,  under  his 
direction,  into  a  snugly  luxurious  setting  for  one  of 
the  best  of  bon  vivants  and  raconteurs;  there  was 
special  attention  paid  to  the  viands  that  were  con 
sumed  and  the  wines  that  were  drunk.  All  this,  of 
course,  was  magnified  by  popular  report.  I  remem 
ber  there  used  to  be  a  little  tradition  among  us  that 
the  President  had  installed  a  "property  basket"  filled 
with  official-looking  documents  with  which  he  was 
wont  to  enter  the  office  for  a  delayed  business  appoint 
ment,  and  on  which  he  made  no  more  progress  than 
the  embroidery  which  some  ladies  like  to  reserve  for 

277 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

occasions  when  a  touch  of  graceful  domesticity  is  to 
be  produced. 

The  truth  is,  the  President  was  not  a  generally  popu 
lar  man.  He  was  always  courteous  in  his  official  re 
lations — with  just  a  suggestion  of  distance.  We  had 
all  become  accustomed  to  the  sort  of  a  man  who, 
whether  he  were  aware  of  it  or  not,  desired  the  ap 
proval  of  the  men  he  met  as  sincerely  as  any  would- 
be  Congressman  stumping  his  district  three  days  be 
fore  election.  But  there  must  have  been  something 
haughty  in  President  Arthur's  belief  in  himself,  some 
thing  of  "The  king  can  do  no  wrong."  He  took  no 
trouble  to  contradict  rumors  or  to  ingratiate  himself 
with  those  who  had  started  them.  He  was  a  hand 
some  man,  generous  in  his  proportions — overtopping 
most  men  and  as  straight  as  a  rail — with  a  suggestion 
of  richness  in  the  coloring  of  his  hazel  eyes  and  fresh- 
colored  face.  As  there  are  always  social  cliques  and 
rivalries,  there  were  various  reports  about  him. 

The  fact  is,  Washington  was  not  accustomed  to  just 
the  type  of  man  that  President  Arthur  represented. 
Because  he  was  somewhat  of  an  epicure,  because  he 
believed  that  social  life  and  the  arts  are  factors  in 
life  of  equal  importance  with  political  primaries,  his 
recreations  were  exaggerated  out  of  all  proportion 
and  his  statesmanship  ignored. 

It  is  for  other  people  to  discuss  these  topics.  I  can 
say  this,  however.  An  administration  that  had  prom 
ised  to  be  torn  by  dissension,  the  prey  of  spoilsmen, 
defeated  by  the  quarrels  of  Republicans  among  them 
selves,  somehow  straightened  out  into  order,  effi- 

278 


GARFIELD    AND    ARTHUR 

ciency.  That  is  the  sort  of  thing  that  becomes  ap 
parent  to  an  office  force.  Somehow  everything  that 
had  to  be  done  was  done,  without  regard  to  party  or 
personal  friendship.  Conkling,  Star-Routers,  Navy- 
all  could  affirm  that.  There  were  no  more  colloquies 
between  disaffected  officials  behind  screens ;  there  was 
no  more  question  of  the  President's  policy  being 
dominated  by  this  politician  or  that.  Whoever  did 
it,  there  was  more  work  done,  more  order  created, 
less  of  political  scandal  during  Arthur's  administra 
tion  than  the  White  House  has  often  witnessed. 

But  it  was  not  recognized  at  the  time.  If  the 
tragedy  of  Garfield's  administration  called  attention 
to  the  evils  of  the  spoils  system,  this  administration 
and  the  election  that  followed  showed  to  what  an 
extent  the  dissemination  of  scandal  could  be  per 
mitted  among  supposedly  decent  people.  And  it 
was  only  when  a  life  or  so  had  been  hurt  by  it  that 
the  evil  was  stayed. 

One  little  incident  stands  out  in  my  mind  in  the 
midst  of  other  very  different  things.  An  old  colored 
man  journeyed  to  the  White  House  to  see  the  Presi 
dent.  While  he  was  waiting  to  be  received  he  told 
me  all  about  how  he  had  belonged  to  the  family  of 
President  Arthur's  wife,  and  how  he  had  carried  his 
"little  Miss"  in  his  arms  to  school.  I  suppose  he  ex 
pected  that  the  President  would  bestow  upon  him  a 
pension  for  life  because  of  the  service,  but  I  never 
heard  of  this  having  been  done. 

It  was  but  natural  that  President  Arthur  should 
have  wanted  the  renomination.  It  would  have  been 

279 


THROUGH    FIVE    ADMINISTRATIONS 

authoritative  assurance  that  his  choice  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency  was  not  a  mere  political  chance.  But  he 
made  singularly  little  effort  to  obtain  the  nomination 
in  1884.  I  suppose  he  was  under  the  impression  that 
his  administration  might  speak  for  him;  there  was 
again  something  almost  haughty  in  the  way  he  dis 
regarded  some  of  the  powerful  politicians,  with  their 
following.  I  know  personally  that  John  A.  Logan 
was  waiting  for  an  audience  with  the  President.  Had 
it  been  given  he  would  have  turned  over  to  him  the 
votes  he  controlled — and  Arthur  might  have  received 
the  nomination  instead  of  Blaine.  But  the  President 
steadfastly  refused  to  see  him — and  the  votes  went 
elsewhere.  The  only  time  I  ever  saw  Mr.  Arthur  show 
any  personal  emotion  was  when  he  said  good-bye  to 
his  office  force  at  the  coming  in  of  Cleveland.  Then 
he  was  very  evidently  moved. 


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